Harry Potter and the new Defense teacher
by HyperMint
Summary: Harry and friends are in their 5th year and their new defense teacher is like no other. Xover with Stargate SG1. Au 5th year
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Harry Potter is in his 5th year and his new Defense teacher is like no other. X-over with Stargate SG-1. AU year 5

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that is recognizable

Harry Potter and the new DADA professor

15 year old Harry Potter sighed as he looked out of the window. The window was fogged with rain.

He ran his fingers through his unruly hair and sighed again. Harry had a feeling that he wouldn't be hearing from anyone, anytime soon. Poor Hedwig hooted softly, feeling restless from being in her cage all day.

"Sorry, girl," Harry told her. "No messages today. I don't think that there is any mail waiting to be picked up. And even if there was, you wouldn't be able to fly in this weather. You might be able to if I was allowed to do magic. I don't think I want a repeat of the summer before second year."

The memory of his house-elf friend, Dobby, made him smile a little. Harry stood up from where he had been sitting and went over to lie on his bed.

'I wonder what Dobby is up to, now that he is at Hogwarts. I wonder where Sirius is. It must not be very fun being on the run from the Ministry, especially in this weather.'

Harry turned his head to look at the window, then got up to go over to the loose floorboard under the bed. He fished around until he got the latest letter from his fellow housemate, Ronald "Ron" Weasley.

Lying back down, he re-read the letter:

_Dear Harry,_

_Hey, mate! Muggles treating you alright? If not, just say the word and we'll try to figure something out. Hear from Hermione?_

Harry gave a smile as he thought about his other best friend, Hermione Granger. Hermione had been the third member of their little trio since Halloween in their first year, when they saved her from that mountain troll and when she saved them from getting in trouble.

_She says that she had finished her homework second week of vacation and that she doubts we have even started ours. _

_Have you heard from Snuffles, lately? I hope he's doing alright where ever he is. So, things have been a little boring around here and Fred and George have been up to something. No one here knows what they are up to. Care to take a guess? And some mental git gave them money for their shop and mum is trying to find out who, but they won't tell._

Harry grinned. He knew who the 'mental git' was and he was glad the twins found the money useful. A memory of how Harry won last year's tournament flashed and Harry hastened to continue.

_So, do you have any idea as to who will teach Defense Against the Dark Arts this year? I mean, we've been through four already. And mate, I have to tell you, with what happened to the others, I'm beginning to think that the job really is cursed. Well, I have to go. Mum is calling everyone to eat. Have a wicked time of threatening your cousin and I'll talk to you later._

_The best,_

_Ron Weasley_

Harry tucked the letter away and lay back down. 'Ron does have a point,' he thought.

In first year, Professor Quirrel died, but there was a reason for that. Second year, Lockheart taught then erased his own memory by accident. Third year, and by far, the best, Remus Lupin was sacked because he was a werewolf. Then, last year, an imposter was discovered playing the part of Mad-Eye Moody, the real DADA teacher.

Harry sighed again, thinking that the new Defense teacher was probably some Death Eater out to get him or something. 'Wouldn't be the first time, either,' he thought wryly.

Little did he know, as he settled in for a snooze, that the new Defense teacher did not want to do anything of the sort. In fact, the new Defense teacher didn't know he was the new Defense teacher, because at that very moment, Colonel Jack O'Neill was still at the base, on his way home to a surprise visit from an old mentor.

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	2. Chapter 2

Harry Potter and the new Defense teacher-Chapter 2

Dis: See Ch. 1

AN: Thank you reviewers! I am really surprised that people seem to like this. Guess that goes to show how low my self-confidence is.-- Anyway, here's chapter two.

Colonel Jack O'Neill whistled happily as he strolled down to General Hammond's office to drop off an overdue report.

Turning a corner, he almost rammed into Dr. Daniel Jackson, a fellow SG-1 teammate. Said Dr. was currently scanning an article in a newspaper intently.

"Watch it, Daniel," Jack said, narrowly sidestepping around his friend to avoid collision.

"Oh, hi, Jack. Going to see the General?"

"Yup." Jack saw that Daniel was reading one of those newspapers that spout off crazy things. "Daniel, why are you reading this stuff?"

"Well, this article is about magic. It's talking about how magic is really there and that we don't notice it because of the fact that we don't posses the magic know how to see it."

'And don't I know it!' Jack thought with a smirk. Memories of his days at the famous school of witchcraft and wizardry flashed by, one after the other. 'Hmmm. I wonder if the staff has changed,' he mused. A hand waving in front of his eyes snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Jack? Everything alright?" Daniel asked, concerned.

"Yeah. Just thinking about some things." 'Like if I should visit my old school. Yeah, that'd be the day.' Jack felt kind of sad at the thought of not visiting. Daniel was looking concerned again, so he shelved his thoughts for another time.

"Well, I'd best be off. I have a few personal things to do, so I'll see you Monday."

"Yeah. See you."

Daniel watched his friend walk out of sight and went back to his article.

Jack came out of the team locker rooms and almost crashed into yet another friend and teammate, Major Samantha "Sam" Carter.

"Oh, hi, sir. Heading home?"

"Yeah. Got an old friend to look up. See you Monday, Carter. And try to relax. Okay?"

"Yes, sir. See you Monday."

Jack nodded and they went their separate ways.

Climbing into his car, Jack winced as his left wrist flared. For some reason, it had been giving him some pain, but he couldn't figure out why.1

Shaking it off, he started the car and drove down the mountain, honking at his friend, Major Lou Ferretti, on the way.

Jack guided his car into the driveway and turned off the engine. He got out and headed for the front door of his house. He inserted the key and turned the knob. Slipping inside, Jack closed the door. He turned to look at his living room. 'Just as I left it,' he thought. 'The rug, the blanket, the lit fireplace…' His train of thought suddenly stopped. 'Lit fireplace!'

He rushed over to inspect it and was more confused by the minute as he realized that the lighter was exactly where he had left it. Then he had come to a revelation that it was lit by magic. And the only wizard he knew that knew where he lived was…

"Hello, Professor," he said, turning to see familiar twinkling eyes smiling at him from his couch.

"Good evening, Jonathon," Professor Albus Dumbledore greeted. "Or is it Jack?"

"Either or," Jack said, going over to shake his Mentor's hand. "Not that I'm not glad to see you or anything, but why are you here?"

"What ever makes you think that I need anything from you?" Albus wanted to know.

"Because, you like to visit me when you want something, Fawkes is with you," he gestured to the phoenix currently on one of his couch pillows, "and it's only a matter of time before you offer me a lemon drop."

Albus chuckled and said, "You always did have a way to foretell little events. And I did think that I was forgetting to do something." He took out his tin and held it out to his former student, who shook his head and took a couple.

"Oh, just a minute, Professor," Jack said, remembering to do something. He then proceeded to check the house and came back with a bug that was in his bedroom. "Uh, sir, if you don't mind?"

"Not at all." Albus waved his wand at it and it disappeared. Now that it was safe, Albus took a seat and Fawkes moved over so that Jack could sit down.

"So, down to business. I have a spot on the staff and I would like you to consider filling it. As I remember, you always did have a talent for the subject."

"Yeah and a talent for trouble, too, one I'm still perfecting," Jack said, thinking of all the times that he and his team had to get themselves out of a fix or have someone else fish them out of.

"Ahh, yes, a talent that you seem to share with a few of the current Gryffindors.2 I have already had four people fill the position and they have all lasted one year. You are one of the only ones I trust and I think that you would fill it well."

"I don't know, Professor. I'm going to have to tell my boss the secret if I'm going to do this."

"That, I think, should be necessary for this job. And I think it's high time that you started calling me by my given name. It certainly would not do for your students to hear you calling me Professor when everyone else calls me Albus."

"Wait a minute, sir. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I might not be allowed to take a year off. I have missions to go on."

"You will still be able to go, if you have someone else cover your classes," Albus insisted.

Knowing that he wouldn't let go of the subject, Jack said, "I'll think on it."

Before he could get another word in, Albus said, "That is fine. I shall leave Fawkes with you and I will look forward to your answer before September. Now, if you don't have anything else to say, I really must get back. I expect that everyone is wondering where I am."

Jack stood as Albus did and shook his hand. "Well, I have a feeling that you will get me to take that job no matter what Hammond says."

Albus wisely chose not to comment and took out some Floo Powder. "If you decide, send your answer with Fawkes. He'll know where to find me." After a nod, he stepped into the fireplace with a shout, "Hogwarts, Headmaster's office." A flash of green and he was gone.

Jack stood in the middle of his living room, thinking. After coming to a decision, he went into his den and shuffled around one of his desk drawers. Coming to the false bottom that not even Teal'c knew about, Jack pushed on the end closer to the back and the 'front end' flipped open. There, in the bottom, was his trusty wand, several pieces of parchment, a dozen quills and inkwells, and his school trunk miniaturized. Taking out a piece of parchment and a self-inking quill, he wrote down his answer and, after putting his stuff back, went back to Fawkes and gave him the note.

After Fawkes left, Jack got ready for bed. "Hammond can wait," he said, lying down. "But I wonder if I'll regret this." Deciding to sleep on it, he slowly fell into sleep's embrace as the Headmaster received his answer.

There is a reason for it, but I don't know if you are going to want a sequel this soon.

If you have seen PoA, then you know where I got this line and take six guesses who and the first three don't count.

AN2- Yeah it is long. I did not intend it to be, but oh well.

Did you like it? Leave a message to let me know if you want me to keep going.

-HyperMint


	3. Chapter 3 Part 1

Harry Potter and the new Defense teacher

Dis: No one is mine

AN: Unless y'all want details, we won't see Harry and friends for awhile. As for why you would want details, you are going to have to read. :P

Chapter Three

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, thinking.

It was Monday, two days after his visit with his second favorite student. Albus thought on the note he had recieved that night.

He was just about to go to dinner when Jack's response 'flew' in.

_Flashback_

_Fawkes landed on his perch and held out his leg for the note to be taken off. Albus took it and settled behind his desk to read._

_Dear Professor,_

_I'll talk to Hammond on Monday, but no promises. Ya think you can visit again? Has to be after 10 O'clock. Then you'll see._

_Until then,_

_Jack O'Neill_

_Albus fingered the note thoughtfully._

_'Yes,' he decided. ' I'll see if I need to find a new candidate.'_

_kcabhsalF_

Albus nodded to reinforce his decision. He was, in fact, about to get up, when someone knocked.

" Yes?" Albus called out.

" Albus? I would like to talk about this year's Hogsmeade visits," Deputy Headmistress and Transfiguration teacher Minerva McGonagall said, walking in and settling down in the chair in front of his desk.

" Of course," Albus settled back down in dismay. ' I was hoping to see Jonathon,' he thought, frowning mentally. He then thought about that and smiled at nothing in particular.

' Hmmm,' he thought again.' I do believe that Jonathon's infamous charm does not limit to young children,' he mused.

' When a person gets some of that charm, you just want some more. It's a wonder that he has as many enemies as he does friends.'

Albus saw that Minerva had a worried look on his face and decided to see Jack as soon as he was done.

Albus stumbled-er- _stylishly walked _out of the fireplace, glad that no one was around to see.

Straightening his robes, he looked around, puzzled when he didn't see his ever punctual ex-student waiting for him.

He shrugged and set about making tea, in case it didn't go well. He knew that, even though Jack had an unreadable look on his face, he really wanted to do this.

He was sipping his tea and looking at some pictures on the mantel, when his quarry entered the house, chuckling and shaking his head.

" Ahhhh, Jack."

" Hi, Professor," Jack said, still chuckling merrily.

" So, I take it that I have all my staff, now?" Albus questioned, hopefully.

" Yeah. Actually," Jack then grew all business," I'd like to tell you about something that you might find amusing, but I think you should hear everything first..."

With that, Jack started relating his day to his professor.

_Jack walked into his office, getting ready for his confrontation with the general. He had his wand and some of his school books with him, should he need to show some proof._

_Checking to make sure that he wouldn't freeze up, Jack turned to leave and nearly crashed into, yet again, Daniel Jackson, who was holding a notebook full of notes for the next briefing. _

_" Daniel, I am going to see Hammond. I am going to have to go somewhere, but I'm not sure if he'll let me go."_

_" Really? Well, I was just going to drop this off and go have some lunch with Sam and Teal'c. I was going to invite you, but if it is that important, then by all means. I'm going to work on that translation for SG-15 when we get done with lunch. You'll know where to find me when you get out."_

_Jack nodded and they went their seperate ways at the control room, because Daniel insisted that he walk his friend to 'the gallows'._

_" I really think that you've been watching the POTC movies too much."_

" Muggle movies," Jack clarified.

Albus nodded and asked," Do you suppose..?"

" We will see, sir," Jack nodded, wondering if there was a magical version of a DVD player.

" Anyway..."

_" It's just coincidence that we have the same nicknames," Jack said to his retreating friend._

_Daniel just waved and continued on his way._

_Jack smiled and entered the General's office._

_George Hammond looked up as his, by far favorite if a bit aggravating, 2 in command walked in._

_" Sir, I have to tell you something... Important."_

_Seeing his friend being serious, George called his aide and ordered that he not be interrupted. As Jack got comfortable, George said," Is everything alright, son?"_

_" Ahh, well, I need a year off from the SGC and it would mean the world to me if I could go."_

_George was a bit taken aback that the leader of his flagship team would request something so un-Jack-like as this. After giving it some thought, he asked," Why do you need the time and where do you need to go in a hurry?"_

_" At one of my old schools, they are short one person on staff and I was appraoched by my old headmaster about taking the position. It's a, uh, unique school and I enjoyed my time there as a student. It's in Scotland and I really think that Albus will probably not take too kindly to being rejected. I mean, August is just about done and he doesn't know where else to go."_

_Something about the name " Albus" rang a bell in George's mind, but he couldn't really pin it down for a bit yet._

_" And why should you go to Scotland just because this headmaster asks you?"_

_This was it. The moment he'd been dreading. " Sir, I don't know how else to tell you." Jack swallowed nervously._

_" Don't know how to tell me what?" George had been studying his friend and knew that this whole conversation was based on this answer._

_" I'm a wizard."_

AN2: Sorry, but I have to stop here. Going to have to break this up, so tune in next time to see what happens next. In part 2.

AN3: If I put the two parts together, we'll all probably be here till Christmas.


	4. Chapter 4 Part 2

Harry Potter and the new Defense teacher

Part 2, Chapter 4

AN: Thanks to all who are sticking with me. People are reading this, I've got maybe over 400 hits...

Have fun with the rest of last chapter.

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_Jack was expecting shock. A chuckle at his 'joke', anything. Heck, even an incoming wormhole would have done it._

_What Jack was not expecting was the thoughtful look on Hammond's face._

_"Well, sir? Aren't you going to say something?"_

_"I've had a feeling that was the case."_

_Jack just stared at him._

_Hammond chuckled at the look on his friend's face. "You see, I have a cousin that is, in fact, a wizard that goes to Salem Academy. That was the same cousin that came to Cassie's 15th birthday party six months ago."_

_"Oh, I see." It was clear that he did not see._

_Hammond's 18 year old cousin was blond with grey eyes. He was a likeable kid and his personality probably rivaled Jack's. Josh Tucker seemed to like him as well. When he looked back on the kid's brief visit, Jack couldn't see any evidence that the kid went to a school that was known, but not as known as Jack's own school._

_"Josh is pretty good at hiding these things. I would have told you, but Josh didn't think that was the right thing to do. Besides, I had a feeling that you shared a similar, if not the same, secret."_

_"You just needed to confirm your suspicions," Jack began to get the picture. In order to confide in him, Hammond needed to sort out if Jack was an open minded sort and not call Mackenzie. _

_George nodded and said,"I believe that Josh also mentioned a Headmaster by the name of Albus Dumbledore. He also said that he had a passion for sweets."_

_Jack laughed,"That would be an understatement, sir. Last time I checked, he was still offering people lemon drops and he always seems to name some kind of candy as a password."_

_George chuckled and said,"So that's why you buy two bags of the stuff every time you go to the store. Dr. Jackson did mention it to me the other day and both Majors Ferretti and Carter agree."_

_"Well, I guess Professor Dumbledore did get me started. Oh, sir, about that job..."_

_"I certainly don't really have a problem, so long as you return for the odd mission every now and then. Your team, on the other hand, might need to be told something as well."_

_"Don't worry, sir. I think that they would feel better if they figured this one out on their own. They really would take it better, sir."_

_"I agree. Alright, if they confront me, though, I'll have to tell them. I think it fair enough."_

_Jack nodded. He'd have to drop some clues, but not all at once. He could have some fun while he could._

_After a few loose ends were tied up, the pair decided to get some coffee and a snack or three. On the way, George asked in a low voice,"Do you think it would be alright if you did some of your magic? Josh couldn't do magic outside of school, but he really wanted to show me some of his tricks."_

_"I don't think I'll get in trouble. Alright," he made up his mind and looked around for anyone who would be an ideal person to 'volunteer'._

_Spotting a scientist that was giving Carter a hard time awhile ago, Jack stepped closer to the General and pulled out his wand. Only the tip, mind._

_He then whispered something that George couldn't understand and a second later, there appeared pink streaks in the target's hair and a sign on his back proclaiming; "I love the color pink. It makes me feel good about myself."_

_Jack hid his wand and George tried to contain his chuckles at his friend's well-placed revenge._

_The two hurried away from the scene of the crime and George said,"Should I ask about how long that color will stay in his hair or will I be better off not knowing?"_

_"At least three hours, sir. But even that is a rough estimate."_

_George just shook his head and wisely decided not to ask._

_They had arrived in front of the canteen and Jack hesitated about going in. "Sir? I would just like to say that I'm glad it all turned out alright and that you believe this stuff."_

_George nodded and said,"If we play this out, three more will know. And I do believe that there are a handful of others here. I just haven't watched them enough."_

_"If you need some help sniffing others out, sir, I'll be more than happy to help."_

_George nodded and motioned for him to enter first. Jack hadn't gotten more than a few steps in before what he was seeing finally registered. He stopped so abruptly that the General almost ran into him._

_"Colonel? What's the problem, son?" The General couldn't see why his second stopped so suddenly._

_"Uh, sir? You won't believe this. Hell, I don't believe it. And here I thought that I've seen everything." He shook his head. "Now, I really have seen everything." _

_"What are you talking about? What won't I believe?"_

_Jack stepped to the side and motioned with an arm. George looked at him confused, then followed his gaze._

_Right away, his mouth fell open, because Dr. Janet Fraiser, different base personnel, Jack's team, and assorted members of other teams were in the middle of something that Jack and George never imagined that they would think of let alone participate in._

_They were amazed that grown adults, of all people, would be in a military base, of all places, and, of all things that they could be doing, having a food fight._

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Albus just stared. Jack nodded.

"They were having a food fight. It took them a few hours to clean it up and in the time between our arrival and being noticed, I'd say that at least ten different things hit me in various places. Needless to say, noone is going on a mission for almost a month for punishment. The General and I had a good laugh, though," Jack mused.

"Jonathon, allow me to be the first to tell you that you have some strange colleagues. You do have the tendency to attract the most unique people," Albus chuckled as the shock wore off.

Jack had the decency to not comment on that, seeing as how one of those 'unique people' was sitting in front of him.

"Well," Albus said,"I sincerely hope that your friends do not give you a hard time when they finally put the pieces together."

"Me, too, sir. Me, too."

The rest of the evening consisted of plans for the upcoming year. Of course, it was then that Jack realized that he was going to have to assign books. Albus left a bit past midnight with a new Defense teacher and Jack was left with thinking about moving to the castle and a little trip to Diagon Alley when he was settled in.

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Review please!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

AN: This is a week after the previous chapter.

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Harry Potter packed his school stuff, happy that he had been given permission to stay at The Leaky Cauldron until the Weasleys and Hermione Granger came to get him and their supplies. Hedwig had been sent off to Ron's house with a note to Ron to keep her there until Harry arrived at the Burrow the next day. The Dursleys were out on a trip and Harry had promised to be at the Burrow by the time they returned.

After checking under the loose floorboard to make sure that nothing was left behind, Harry, wand in hand, picked up his trunk and left the house. He traveled down the street to where he had been when he had first glimpsed his godfather and repeated the actions from his third year. When he had gotten on the Knight Bus for the first time, there had been beds. Now, however, there were chairs against the wall with seatbelts hanging beside them.

Even though it was 3 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon, not many people were there. Harry had managed to get into a seat facing a pair of witches, when the Knight Bus bolted forward at that breakneck speed that he remembered so well.

Harry was just about to open a book when he had the feeling of being watched. He looked up to meet a pair of blue eyes. The witch had her hair up in a ponytail and the witch sitting next to her had her hair pulled up in two ponytails.

"Hi," he said, uncertainly.

The witch gave him a big smile and said,"Hi, I'm Luna and this is my twin, Kat."

Kat looked up from her knitting and smiled. "Our ponytails are the only way to tell us apart," she explained, shaking her head so that her hair swung back and forth.

Luna nodded. The bus stopped at a village called Carson's Cove and the twin witches gathered their things and, after a last smile at Harry, got off at their stop.

'I guess some people just want to talk,' Harry thought bemusedly, as the bus flew off again.

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A half hour later, Harry got to his room and laid out his clothes for the next day. After everything was in order, he went downstairs and out the back. Taking his wand out, he tapped the brick wall and smiled as the archway was revealed.

The Alley was as busy as ever, even though it was a bit before school started up again.

Taking out the list he had recieved three days ago, he decided to get some money before doing what he needed to do.

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A few wild cart rides later, Harry staggered into the Apothecary aiming for the ink section. He was running so low on ink that the trip was a welcome relief.

There were all kinds of ink in all the colors of the rainbow. Harry was about to reach for a bottle of ink when a hand slapped another inkwell in his.

"I'd use this kind if I were you. It is better than that other stuff," a warm voice informed him.

Harry looked over his shoulder at the speaker. He had brown eyes and a messy mix of gray and brown hair along with a trusting smile on his face. Harry smiled back at him and turned to fully face the older wizard. They smiled at each other again and Harry skirted around the stranger, brushing his arm as he passed.

Harry forgot about that encounter until later that evening, when he saw the wizard again. He was at the Ice Cream Parlor and about to turn to go out with his ice cream, when he saw the same wizard waving at him from a table near the back.

"Hello, again," the older wizard smiled as Harry sat down across from him. "How was your day?"

"Fine," Harry answered, as he dug into his vanilla ice-cream with strawberries topped with whipped cream. He stopped and stared as he noticed that his companion had triple chocolate ice-cream with hot fudge syrup, chunks of brownies sprinkled on top, and a cherry or two. That would normally not be a problem, however, the older wizard had the biggest size the Parlor had.

"What?" The wizard noticed that the kid was staring at his ice-cream with an incredulous expression on his face. "So, I like chocolate. Actually, not this much, but I haven't been here in a awhile and my friends can't get enough of this stuff. Thought I'd try it out."

Harry nodded and the pair ate in comfortable silence for almost twenty minutes. During that time, Harry took small glances at the other, wondering if he was someone to worry about. 'He seems nice enough,' he thought, as he savored a strawberry. 'But then, he is probably trying to lull me into a false sense of security, so I'd better keep my guard up.' He thought that sounded like something Moody would think, but resolved to keep alert, anyway. A part of him, though, didn't think that the other would attempt to do something like that, but, first, it was a small part and, second, Harry didn't know him at all and it was very likely that Harry wouldn't see him again, which, for some strange reason, made him feel a bit sad.

"Everything alright, kid?" Harry broke out of his thoughts and realized that he was staring at him intently.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, you haven't touched your treat and I haven't met a kid that didn't like ice-cream, yet. Actually," he added, giving it some thought,"I haven't met anyone that didn't like ice-cream."

"Oh, I was just thinking about something else."

"Well, finish your ice-cream and I'll walk you to the Cauldron. That is where you are headed, right?"

Harry nodded and hurried to finish. As soon as the last drop was gone, they got up and threw out the trash.

It was getting dark out and Harry needed to finish some homework before bed. As they walked along, Harry was glad that the wizard decided to accompany him. Before he could think about that thought, they entered the archway and found themselves inside the cozy atmosphere of the Leaky Cauldron.

"Well," his escort said,"it's time I hit the hay and I think you should do the same. Don't look at me like that. I have a feeling that you are going to need it tomorrow. Say, where are you going tomorrow?"

"To a friend's house until school starts again. Why?"

"Nothing really," the older wizard actually looked disappointed to hear of Harry's departure.

Feeling a bit guilty for making him feel bad, but not knowing why, Harry offered,"I could meet you here before I leave." Seeing him lighten up a little, he added,"I don't leave until noon tomorrow. Maybe we could hang out until then."

The stranger nodded and turned to leave, but turned back and said,"You know what? We haven't introduced ourselves yet. I'm Jack."

He held out his hand and Harry shook it, saying,"My name is Harry." For some reason, he didn't want to use some other name. He thought that if he could trust this man to walk him through a dark alley street and not try to do him in, then he could trust him with his name. 'Besides, every person and their pet knows me anyway.'

Harry and Jack then parted ways. Harry went up to his room wondering where this insane urge to trust this 'Jack' came from. Jack went to his room a few minutes later with a smile on his face and his mind on the kid he spent some time with.

"Reminds me of Daniel when we met. Kinda looks like him, too. A bit," he said to himself as he snuggled in for the night.

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Harry woke up bright and early the next morning. Excited that he was going to spend time with his friends, he jumped out of bed, got dressed and ready to go, then headed downstairs for some breakfast. When he got there, he was surprised to see the wizard from the night before at a table with a bowl of oatmeal and the wizarding newspaper, the Daily Prophet.

"Hi! Thought you were going to sleep all day and miss your ride. Wouldn't want you to that now, would we?" Jack said, folding up the paper and finishing his oatmeal.

"What do you mean 'all day'? It's only nine o'clock and I'm going by floo," Harry corrected, then sat down and wondered why he had said that and in that tone.

Jack just shrugged and watched as Harry ordered pancakes and pumpkin juice. Not many people were there, so they didn't have any trouble for awhile. Jack looked at his watch and said,"What are you going to do until leaving time?"

"I was thinking of getting some other school stuff, like the rest of my books and some potions stuff. I'll get my robes and other bits when I come back to Diagon Alley," he said, sipping his juice. Harry then wondered why he was telling this stuff to a virtual stranger.

Jack thought for a minute then said,"When are you coming back to the Alley?"

"I suppose we'll be here for a few hours three days before the start of term. May I ask why?"

"I might be in the neighborhood around that time. Any chance of meeting you that day?"

Harry nodded, then drained the last of his juice. "Possibly. We'll be out and about. We're bound to meet up. Sooner or later."

Jack shoveled the last bit of oatmeal into his mouth and said,"If I'm right about who you are, why are you going to meet up with someone you know virtually nothing about and are still talking to that someone without half the Ministry SWAT team hidden around here?" Seeing the look on Harry's face, Jack added,"Muggle thing."

Harry thought about the question and said,"I honestly don't have a clue. I just can't help but trust you for some reason. And I don't think I trust the Ministry as far as I can throw Hagrid."

Feeling somewhat flattered at that revealation and a bit alarmed that the kid, and a famous one at that, would trust someone that might've been a Death Eater, but seemed to go with his instincts, he asked somewhat fondly,"You know Hagrid?"

Harry nodded and said,"He was one of my first friends and he introduced me to the wizarding world."

"He was one of my first friends, too. Haven't heard from him in awhile. So, how's he been? Still having trouble keeping secrets?"

"Yeah. Actually, some of the trouble I get into is because of him and that little problem of his."

'Ahh, so he would be one of those 'trouble talented' Gryffindors I was told about.' Aloud, he said,"Is he still interested in magical creatures? Did Dumbledore give him the CoMC job?"

Harry nodded again and said,"Yes. He gave it to him the year Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban."

"Oh, yes. I heard about that. Do you think he betrayed the Potters that night?" Jack asked, face unreadable.

Harry sent a silent apology to his godfather for what he was about to say. "Yeah. Why not? Do you?"

"No, I don't."

"What!" Harry couldn't believe it! Someone thought that Sirius didn't do what everyone said he did!

Mistaking the look on his face for thinking about calling the guys in the white jackets, Jack said,"I just don't think he did it, that's all. I have no idea why, but I've got the strangest feeling that there is more to the story. Don't ask me what the rest of the story is, I don't know, but there is more. I didn't think he did it from the start. There is something more and I'm not going to change my opinion. I have been having these strange feelings since I was a first year and most of them turn out to be right on the money. And more than once, they saved my life, too. If you don't believe me, that's fine, but something about it all just doesn't add up in my mind."

"What doesn't?" Harry wanted to know.

Jack looked at him and said,"You know, that has been bugging me for a few years. I'm going to try to figure it out and when I do, I'll let you know."

Harry couldn't wait to tell Sirius that not everyone thought he was guilty about that night and its aftermath.

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"Got everything?" Jack said to his temporary charge, as they waited for who ever was going to pick him up.

Harry nodded and said,"Thanks for helping me bring down my trunk."

"Don't worry about it. Here, I'll even shrink it for you." Jack took out his wand and a second later, he was handing over a bottle cap sized version of Harry's trunk.

Right on the dot, a familiar figure stepped into the Cauldron and Harry imeadiately spotted him.

"Professor Lupin? I didn't know you were coming," Harry said, hugging his former DADA teacher.

"Neither did I," Remus Lupin laughed. "Molly demanded that I come, since I need to pick up something for her anyway. Who might you be, sir?" he added, spotting Jack, who was hovering nearby.

"Jack. Lupin, is it?"

Remus nodded warily. He saw Harry tense out of the corner of his eye and gave him a quick squeeze.

Jack held out a hand and Remus shook it, reluctantly, wondering what he was going to do.

"Well, Mr. Lupin, even though I know what you are and with the fact that werewolves are considered dangerous," Remus waited for the change,"I, for one, am willing to overlook that."

Jack nearly burst out laughing at the identical looks that he was getting and continued,"I am doing this because my young friend here seems to like you, I could really care less that you turn into a monster once a month, and I happen to know a few people myself that are considered dangerous. In reality, though, they are just big teddy bears."

For a second, Remus didn't know what to say. He was just so used to people putting him down because of something he really couldn't control.

Jack gave him a smile and decided that he liked the man, werewolf or no. He looked at his watch and said,"Well, I must get going. My friends and I have something planned for another friend of ours. I am just shocked that, as curious as she is, she hasn't figured out why everyone stops talking about something and changes topic whenever she enters the room."

Harry nodded and shook his hand before Jack turned. "See you three days before term?" he confirmed.

Jack grinned and said,"It's a date."

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AN: Kat & Luna are my characters and you just might see them in the future. That was probably the longest anything that I typed. Ever! If you liked it, send a message. And so ends one of my favorite chapters. T.T

Review!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

AN: I am happy to report that I will finish this story. Who knows where we'll go from there?

It won't be very long, but I will see about getting a longer chapter done.

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"Harry James Potter! How could you just trust yourself with a stranger like that?" Hermione Granger demanded to know.

Harry had gotten around to telling them about Jack six days after his arrival, for fear of Hermione's reaction. Now, Ron he could count on, because he had an odd tendency to side with him on things like this.

"Oh, calm down, Hermione!" Ron Weasley countered. "Harry's got a right to trust someone and, this may come as a shock to you, not everyone is a Death Eater!"

"Harry shouldn't have told that man when we were coming! Who knows what he will do when he sees Harry?" Hermione fretted.

Before they could get at it again, and to Harry's immense relief, Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister, poked her head around the door to Ron's room and announced that dinner was ready.

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Daniel Jackson bounded into the mess hall and plopped himself down in a chair right next to his best friend.

"Alright," Jack O'Neill said, throwing down his spoon. "What has got you all hyped up now?"

Right away, he regretted asking, because the head of the archeaology department started in on how he had cracked yet another mystery of the universe and how he and a lot of 'rock enthuseists' were going on a mission to find more about their discovery.

Jack sighed as his friend rabbled on. He looked around the hall thinking about his last visit to Diagon Alley and the kid that he had met there.

He smiled as he compared his friend to the famous Harry Potter.

Who, in all actuality, was just a kid wanting someone to hangout with, instead of having too much responsibility about saving the world from would be disturbances.

Jack smiled again as he thought about his own responsibility about saving the world from would be destruction.

'So I am trying to protect the world from space, while Harry's trying to protect the world from the forces of darkness. I guess we have something in common then,' he mused. 'We are both trying to protect the world in our own special way.'

Jack and Daniel then got a call to the General's office and they were on their way in no time.

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Harry got a bit of a surprise a few days later, when he woke up. He and Ron went downstairs to see both Remus Lupin and Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, sitting at the Weasley breakfast table, having a light-hearted conversation with Ron's older twin brothers, Fred and George, who were both in their last year at Hogwarts.

"Sirius! What are you doing here?" Harry asked, hugging the older wizard tightly.

"Well, I thought you would want to spend some time with me before you go off to school," the animagus laughed at his godson's enthusiasm as he hugged him back just as tightly.

"And," Remus added," we thought we'd go with you all when you get your things."

Molly Weasley just shook her head as she headed out to visit with some of the mothers of the neighborhood.

" Unfortunately, Molly doesn't want us to ruin our cover and put you in 'danger'. I really don't see why she won't trust me, er, us," Sirius snorted as Molly disappeared from sight.

Once everyone was seated at the table and eating breakfast that the Weasley matron had left out for them, Sirius had decided that now was a good time to bring up the subject about this werewolf-friendly stranger that Harry had befriended on his last visit to the Alley.

" So, Harry," he started slowly." I hear that you made a friend on your last visit to Diagon Alley?"

Harry glanced at Hermione's smug look and sighed in defeat.

" Yeah. He was really concerned when he saw that I was going out to the Cauldron in the dark. I felt safe with him. The kind of safe I feel right now, only there was another emotion mixed in."

" Do you want to take a guess as to what emotion you saw?" Remus coaxed.

Harry thought about it for a minute. "Well, I guess it was a kind of emotion that you get when you want some company and a kid just happened to be in the vicinity and that kid seemed to need someone to help him find his way."

He shrugged as he gave the best explanation he could come up with. Actually, Jack had looked somewhat amused at their situation. Well, it seemed like the older man had done something like this before. Helping a lost puppy find his way home, that is.

Sirius just looked thoughtful at that explanation and said," Well, it seemed that you like and trust this guy, but I'd like to 'sniff' him out just the same. But, now don't bite my head off, Molly thought it was a good idea to move the visit up some, so we'll go next Saturday."

"WHAT!" Harry yelped, followed by Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny, all of whom had heard about Jack and wanted to meet him for themselves.

Sirius nodded, while Remus said," That was our reaction. Apparently, she didn't want us to check him out for fear of your self-proclaimed friend turning nasty on us."

Remus, for his credit, looked somewhat sad to tell them that Jack would probably forget about it anyway and that it was highly unlikely that Jack would show up on the new day. The werewolf was sad about that and it seemed like he wanted to see the older man almost as much as the kids did.

But then, they didn't know about Jack's recent, somewhat alarming, ability to be somewhere that noone expected him to be.

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AN2: Ooooh, a bit of a cliffhanger, there. Actually, I based this ability on my science teacher's habit of showing up unexpectedly, most times when trouble is brewing. Or someone is skipping classes. She did it yesterday, now that I think about it. Ahh, well. Hoped you enjoyed it.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

AN: The chapter takes place the Saturday before the Saturday that Molly has chosen, so we get to go on a trip through the 'Gate before we meet up with Harry and friends again. If that's alright.

Don't worry. I won't hurt Daniel. Much.

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While certain young Gryffindors fumed, Jack was in a briefing and they were about to go visit a planet that was uninhabited.

When the team heard that, Jack snorted and said,"Since when has any planet been 'uninhabited' from day one?"

Teal'c had given him a small and rare smile, Sam had snickered behind her hand, and Daniel looked thoughtful and said,"You know, Jack does have a point."

George had just shook his head and told them to scoot before he got nasty.

"So, I guess you just want us to take a look then, huh, sir?" Jack said, getting ready to leave.

"If that's too much to ask, Colonel. Take some soil samples and get back to the other scientists," George directed Sam, who nodded in affirmative.

After a few non-important facts that Jack paid attention to anyway ( "What? With our luck we might need the information, so-called uninhabited or not!" ), they were dismissed, Jack being called to stay.

"Sir?"

"Jack, when will you visit that place you were talking about the other day?" George asked.

"Well, sir, I'm planning to go back earlier than planned. I seem to have lost something and I am going to get another on Saturday, next."

George nodded and told him that he would be ready for pick up at nine sharp.

"I'll have to ask Albus, though. The headmaster is sure to say yes."

"That'll be fine."

And that was that for the moment.

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Jack strided out of the Stargate seconds before the others arrived.

"Alright, kids," he called. "You know the drill: spread out, keep in radio contact, and don't let your guard down. Carter, you are with T and Daniel and I will see if there are any rocks to be found."

"Artifacts," Daniel muttered as Sam grinned at him and followed the Jaffa toward a cluster of trees.

Daniel trekked after his best friend and the two groups went further away from each other, but keeping the 'Gate within sight at all times.

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"What I don't understand," Daniel said, walking side by side with Jack, "is why noone is here. I mean, someone had to put the Stargate on this planet. Why abandon both the 'Gate and planet. What made them come here in the first place?"

"That is exactly why we are here, Dannyboy. Actually, that is one of the reasons why we do what we do, now that I think of it. Anyway, I have something to tell you guys."

Daniel thought for a moment.

"Wait. Let me guess..." He joked. "You really aren't a normal guy. You live a double life and we just happen to be a part of some sort of strange cover up."

Daniel laughed and turned to see Jack's reaction -- only to stop short as he realized that Jack had 1) stopped walking beside him and 2) disappeared from sight completely.

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Jack sighed as he saw a planet rotating below him.

'Why does this look familiar? Oh, yeah. Maybe it's because I am in this situation almost several times a week. Hey, wait a minute! What are the chances that Thor would be at this planet at the exact same time that we are?'

Jack looked around for his little alien buddy, then, remembering the Replicator Catastrophe, made sure to have his P-90 at the ready while he went from room to room, searching for his friend and ally.

"Thor?"

Jack looked into the control room and found the exact Asguard that he was looking for.

Thor turned and seemed a bit surprised to see him.

"O'Neill! What brings you to Lorasiana?"

"Is that what this planet is called? We heard that the planet was abandoned and wanted to check it out. How did you know we would be here?"

"I had no knowledge of your location. As to why you were taken aboard my ship, I have yet to find out. There was an unexpected surge of power before your arrival, yet there is no sign of another vessel within range."

"Really? Huh. Well, while I'm here, would you happen to know why the inhabitents of Lorasiana, you called it, left? There doesn't seem to be a threat here and everything looks like it should...Any thoughts, buddy?"

Thor just blinked at him and said,"It appears that we have a common goal. I was sent here to ensure that there is no threat on the planet so that a group of our researchers can go and see if they can suspect anything that is amiss."

Jack nodded and looked around the all too familiar control room.

He looked back and said,"Well, that's fine, but I really think the rest of my team should be here to listen to this. So, if you would..?"

Thor nodded and turned to a control panel to move a stone.

There was a flash of light and all three members of SG-1 stood in the middle of the room blinking rapidly at the sudden change in location.

"Jack!" Daniel said, spotting his missing friend and breathing a sigh of relief. They had all agreed to go back to base and return with reinforcements, when a transporter beam caught them and brought them aboard Thor's ship.

"Hey, kids. Miss me?" Jack teased half-heartedly, seeing the relief on their faces and feeling a warm glow start to spread at the notion of being missed and fretted over.

"Indeed."

"Yes, sir."

"Don't scare us like that, Jack. We nearly went back to base without you."

"Hey, I don't know why or how I got here. Thor said that he didn't know we were going to be here and that there was some sort of power surge before I arrived."

Thor agreed and then proceeded to answer Sam's questions, leaving Teal'c, Daniel, and Jack to their own devices.

Daniel turned to Jack a few minutes later and said,"So, what were you going to tell me before you were beamed up?"

"Well, I've been asked to take on another assignment, so I won't be around much."

Thor and Sam had stopped their session of twenty questions to listen. "Where is your assignment, sir?"

"Classified, but I have complete faith in you to figure it out on your own. In fact, I think I'll give you a clue to help you along."

"What kind of clue?" Daniel wanted to know.

"Yeah, sir. What kind?" Sam agreed, interested in a challenge.

"Well, let's see," Jack thought for a minute. "How about this? I can do something that most other personnel can't do, you all included. I guess you could say that I am one of a kind. Where I come from, it's pretty normal."

All he got were blank stares, but his confidence in his team didn't waver for one bit.

Unknown to them, Thor was confirming some long held suspicions about his Tauri friend.

'O'Neill truly is one of a kind,' the little gray alien mused, before getting snapped out of his thoughts by the very one he was thinking about.

"Hey, buddy! How about sending us back, huh?"

"Of course." Thor tried to send them back, but soon, he found a bit of a problem.

"It would appear that the power surge, as you put it, overloaded the crystals and it will take a fair amount of time before the crystals are cooled enough to send you all back to Lorasiana," he reported.

The others looked at each other and Daniel asked, uncertainly, "Thor? How long do you think it will take?"

Thor just tilted head and informed them, "Approximately, twelve of your earth hours."

Jack, uncertain if he was joking or not, said, "Oh, so we're stuck here?"

"Yes, O'Neill."

"And can you find out where that power surge came from?"

"I will attempt to do so."

Jack just sighed and walked out.

'Great! Stuck on an alien ship for twelve hours.' He sighed, walking down a hallway.

'I wonder what that kid is doing back on Earth...'

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Harry Potter sighed as he looked up at the clear blue sky.

Sirius Black looked at him, empathetically.

"I know how you feel to be locked up like this, with nowhere to go, Harry. But, hey, you know. It could be worse."

Harry looked at him, puzzled.

"Worse, how?"

Sirius thought for a moment, then grinned.

"Well, you could be stuck on an alien ship for twelve hours."

Harry smiled at that.

"Yeah," he agreed. "But, then, what are the chances that aliens exist?"

Sirius just laughed.

"True, kiddo. Very true."

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AN: I guess Daniel didn't need to be in any danger, after all. But don't worry. There are plenty of chances for that down the road.

( Evil grin )

You know, it's ironic that both Daniel, Harry, and Sirius were just about right. They'll find out how right they are/were, but I'm not telling when.

Normally, I would update over the weekend, but I get to go to Homecoming! I am sooo excited.

Do you guys want me to type up a chapter about those twelve hours or just fastforward to Saturday? Feedback would be appreciated.

( Didn't even plan this chapter, neither...)

HyperMint, Class of '08


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

AN: to those who have been wanting the twelve hours: I have decided to make it a missing scene because I couldn't make up my mind about whether I wanted to put it in or not. Not to mention the fact that some people don't want it in the story. This way, everyone is happy. I don't know when it'll be up but it probably will happen around Christmas. I had a fun Homecoming at Woodside High and I hope everyone had a particularly frightening Halloween.

Enough about me: Let's get this story started, shall we?

Chapter 8

Harry was having the time of his life. He really was.

His godfather, with some glamour charms on his animagus form, trotted along side him happily.

Hermione, Ron, Ginny, The Twins, Remus, and Molly were there as well.

Diagon Alley was unusually busy on that fine Saturday morning and Molly and the others just gave it a passing thought.

Unlike one of two wizards, who was decidedly jumpy that day.

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"For crying out loud! I have never seen this many people here before. I wonder why," Jack said to George Hammond.

(AN: Told ya Jack had a hunch for showing up unexpectedly, didn't I?)

George just rolled his eyes and laughed. "Well, you aren't paranoid," he teased.

"You laugh now," Jack said, picking around through the writing supplies. "But just you wait. I have a hunch that something will happen and when that something does happen, don't come crying to me."

George just laughed again, harder.

"Oh, I just remembered something," Jack said. "I have to pick up the book that I assigned to the kids, fifth year on up. I did something with my copy and haven't seen it since. Oh, well."

"And what's the name of this book?" George wanted to know.

"'A Beginner's guide to fighting: Muggle style'?" Ron nearly shouted. "This bloke's gone mental! We are witches and wizards, not muggles!"

"Oh, Ron," Hermione said, leading the way to Flourish and Blotts. "Maybe he wants to do something a little differently. Ever think of that?"

Ron just shook his head and snorted. "Who in their right minds would get a book about fighting muggles? I don't get it."

"And you probably won't ever get it unless you have an open mind," a wizard cut in, waiting out in front of the bookstore. "I should know about open minds," he chuckled to himself.

Before anyone could say anything else, Molly hurriedly ushered her group inside. Looking back, Harry, Snuffles, Remus, Hermione, and the four Weasleys saw that the wizard looked a bit startled at Molly's behavior.

'Now that was just rude,' Sirius thought as he was tugged along on his leash. 'That Molly. I wonder what her problem is.'

"Now, everyone," Molly said, as they gathered around as best they could amid the jostling. "Here are your lists. We will meet back here in a half an hour. The girls and I will go one way and Remus, his dog, and the boys will go the other way."

After a few more instructions that Fred and George ignored, they set off on their ways.

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"I know you're here somewhere," Hermione mumbled to herself, scanning the shelves for the book assigned for Transfiguration class.

"You know," a voice drawled from behind, "talking to yourself is the first sign of madness. But then I wouldn't have expected anything less from a mudblood."

Hermione whirled around to find Draco Malfoy, Gregory Goyle, and Vincent Crabbe standing behind her, Malfoy smirking at the furious look on her face.

Before she could say a word, a voice intervened.

"And I would watch what you say to young ladies, that is, if you fancy yourself a true gentleman."

An older wizard stepped out of the shadows and put an arm around Hermione's shoulder, giving the three boys a glare that could stop a System Lord in his tracks.

"I suggest you leave before I give you an example of what a real fight is about," he said, coldly.

Without another word, the three Slytherins beat a hasty retreat, having sensed that the elder wizard was not someone to mess with.

Hermione glared at the retreating three, then looked at her rescuer, surprised to see friendly brown eyes looking down into hers with a smile.

"Alright, missy?" his baritone voice asked in concern. "Those three giving you trouble?"

"Oh, it's alright, sir. I have to put up with them at Hogwarts," she said flippantly. "I've learned to deal with them."

The wizard nodded and reached behind them to get a book, before handing it to her.

"The one you were looking for, I take it," he smiled.

Hermione smiled back, vaguely wondering why she wasn't more alarmed to have a complete stranger step out of the shadows and save her from Malfoy and his goons, then act all friendly toward her as soon as they left.

The wizard looked at his watch and said, "Sorry to leave you high and dry, missy, but my friend is waiting for me and he has to be back home in a half hour."

"Thank you for helping me earlier," she said, holding her book tight.

"No problem, missy," the man said, before winking and striding away, leaving Hermione to wonder about him and the name he kept calling her.

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Harry and Snuffles scoured the shelves, looking for the Quidditch book that Ron had told him about.

"Well, if it isn't my young friend. And I see that he has a friend with him today," both of them spun around to see Jack O'Neill leaning against a wall devoid of shelves.

"Jack? What are you doing here? I didn't expect to see you again," Harry smiled at him, as Snuffles growled threateningly.

"Hmm, is he your dog?" Jack asked.

"I'm just looking after him for the moment."

"Ahh, well, in answer to your questions, I seemed to have lost something so my friend and I decided to come and get another one. As for your second one, I seem to have that effect on a lot of people and I have yet to solve that particular mystery of the universe. And you?"

Seeing that his godfather had calmly and patiently been following the conversation, Harry said, "My friends and I are doing some school shopping."

"Huh. Well, like I told missy, I've got places to be, so I'll be seeing you."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I just have a feeling I'll be seeing a lot of you in the coming months."

After a parting wink for Harry and a pat for Snuffles, Jack rounded a corner and disappeared from sight.

'You know, I think I like him,' Sirius thought as he and Harry found the book that they were looking for. 'I have absolutely no idea why, but I like him.'

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"Well, did you find it?" George asked as they left the Alley behind them.

"That and some kids that I look forward to seeing at Hogwarts."

"That's good. At least missions aren't the only thing to keep you going anymore."

Jack nodded. 'I guess nothing did happen. I can't help but feel a bit paranoid in large crowds,' he mused as they apparated to his living room.

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When everyone got back together, Molly and her group stopped at the ice cream shop to get something cold.

As they walked to the Cauldron, both Harry and Hermione were deep in thought.

"Say, mate," Ron said. "Did you meet that bloke you were talking about?"

"Yeah, actually. Said that people always seem to be surprised to see him."

"I met someone, too. He helped me out with something."

"And you didn't interrogate him about how many he had seen You-Know-Who?" Ron asked incredulously.

Ginny and Hermione just gave him a look and sped to walk with Molly.

"What?" Ron asked.

Harry just shook his head and wondered what Jack meant when he said that they'd be seeing each other in the coming months.

The twins were whispering behind them, with Remus and Snuffles behind them.

'Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see,' Harry thought, suddenly, for some reason, excited to be going back to school.

'Yes. We will just have to wait and see.'

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AN: You like? I just hated putting the "m" word. I don't like Malfoy calling Hermione that word, but I guess it can't be helped.

Anyhow, I have to stop. My hands are sore from typing. If you have anything to say, you know what button to push.

Au revoir, mes amies!


	9. Chapter 9

Harry Potter and the new Defense Teacher- chapter 9

AN: I'm up to my ninth chapter! Aren't you proud?

Dis: I own nothing.

Chapter 9

Snuffles growled as yet another person nearly stepped on him. The platform was very crowded and the kids were being seen off by the two Marauders and Molly Weasley.

Harry, Hermione, Fred, Ron, Ginny, and George pushed past the crowd and hurried onto Platform 93/4. 'That is probably the only advantage in a crowd,' Sirius thought, being tugged along. 'You can disappear the wizard way without anyone noticing.'

The kids rushed to get their things put away and then gathered around Molly.

"Now," she said, "I want you all to be on your best behavior this year. Don't cause trouble and mind your studies." Harry and Hermione were the first to get hugs and then they were shuffled over to where Remus and Snuffles were waiting.

"I would like an owl every week from all of you and I would appreciate it if you told the others also. Now, I don't know who the new teacher is, but I would like to hear about him, name included. If you have any doubts at all, just write and I shall be there to keep an eye on things. Don't worry, Harry. Snuffles will see you as soon as we are allowed. Now, go on and tell me and Snuffles what is going on." Remus gave them a hug then shooed the pair off, along with the four youngest Weasleys.

The trio, twins, and Ginny slid onto the train just before it took off and the six Gryffindors waved to the three on the Platform as it began to move. Harry noticed that Snuffles seemed to be sniffing the air with what looked like an incredulous expression on his face, but Harry wasn't sure.

As soon as the train left King's Cross, the children went their separate ways, knowing that they would catch up again at the Great Hall.

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How Jack got into this mess, he would never know. What he did know, however, was that a certain Potions master was so going to get a prank when he least expected it.

It was because of him that Jack was on the Hogwarts Express, making sure that the students got to their destination in one piece.

It was also because of him that Jack was in deep hot water with the Minister of Magic.

George Hammond had laughed when retold the tale of the impromptu duel that nearly sent Cornelius Fudge to St. Mungo's.

As Jack stewed over the incident, the Golden Trio made their way to a compartment on his left.

In actual fact, both the Minister and Snape were both asking for it. If Snape hadn't provoked him, and the Minister hadn't insulted Professor Dumbledore like he did, Jack wouldn't have lost control. Albus, who had walked in just as Fudge dodged a spell, decided that it would be best if Jack was absent from the grounds while the meeting was still taking place. Thus Jack's current residence on the train.

Jack knew he would have to control his temper, especially around a certain house, this year. It would not do for the students to be afraid of him like he was going to be the next Dark Lord. Actually, if he was going to be a Dark Lord he would much rather surround himself with Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws than with Slytherins. 'Then again,' he thought to himself, 'I wouldn't be much of a Dark Lord, would I?'

He shook his head and tried those calming techniques that Daniel insisted he use to control his temper. He even tried other tricks that he used to keep his accidental magic in check.

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Harry tried the clock spell once more and sighed when he saw that only a few minutes had passed since Ron and Hermione started arguing about Victor Krum and not an hour as he had hoped.

It seemed like they had just left the train station a few minutes ago, but they had actually left it almost four hours ago. It was almost time, Harry noted with glee, for the sweets cart to arrive.

Keeping an ear out for the tale tell signs of the cart, Harry returned to his book and tried to shut out the argument. Harry winced a bit as his scar slightly flared up. Ever since the end of last year, it had been hurting on and off during the summer and he was just grateful that both times that he had met up with Jack the scar didn't even twinge.

Finding that he really wanted to think about the older wizard for awhile, Harry closed his book, attempted to shut out his friends again, and looked out the window, allowing his thoughts to break free.

Jack was a bit of a mystery, alright. When Harry and Jack went up to bring Harry's trunk down that once in the Cauldron, he had asked about what he did for a living. All he could get out of him was that Jack worked with muggles, so that ruled out the Death Eater theory. Then Harry had asked what he did with the muggles, but Jack steadfastly refused to give him a clue.

Harry just assumed that he was embarrassed. Now, however, he began to have some doubts.

He didn't know why he had just thought about it, but suddenly he remembered that Jack had told Remus that he knew some dangerous people and they were actually "big teddy bears", in Jack's words.

Maybe he did have something to hide. By now, though, Harry was sure that he wasn't a Death Eater, but maybe there was something else.

Something else that had to be kept secret.

In fact, if Harry didn't know any better, he was almost certain that there was more than just one secret that Jack held. It seemed plausible enough, that he had secrets to hide. His eyes looked as though they had seen too many things. Not only that, but Jack didn't seem to be as old as his appearance suggested he was. His personality, especially, didn't suit his appearance at all.

Harry smirked as he thought of the mayhem that would possibly occur had Sirius, Remus, Jack, Fred, and George decided to pool all of their resources together and try to out do the Marauders in their school days.

He was sure that everyone would probably end up like Moody if that actually happened.

Then Harry had a thought. Maybe he should see if he could write to Jack and tell him about The Twins's joke shop, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

'Then again,' he chuckled, 'maybe it wouldn't be a good idea. Jack did mention that he had friends and I certainly don't want someone else out for my blood.'

Suddenly, Harry noticed that the compartment was empty. "Where'd they go?" Harry wondered, trying not to panic.

"I do believe that they are with the other prefects, along with the Head Girl and Boy," a familiar voice answered soothingly.

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Jack smiled at the amazed look on Harry's face.

Before he could ask, Jack said, "The headmaster needed an eye on the students, but couldn't come himself. I owed him a favor anyway."

Actually, despite the fact that he had lied to the kid, that actually was a half-truth. Albus had expressed his concern about the safety of the students at the last staff meeting and had originally planned to go.

Originally, being the operative word.

Jack had to go, lest he wanted to be thrown into Azkaban Prison for an attempt on the Minister's life.

Thing was that he had been aiming for Snape, but Fudge distracted him.

Albus also insisted that he had to be here before he started something else that the school couldn't afford to have happening right before the start of term.

Jack was immensely glad that it was Friday and that he didn't have to start teaching yet.

He snapped out of his thoughts as Harry had a concerned look on his face.

"Sorry, lost in thought for a minute there," he muttered, sitting down in the seat that Hermione had vacated, which was right across from Harry.

"Didn't think you were ever going to see me again, huh?" Jack teased. "What did I tell you about me showing up when people least expect it?"

"I forgot," Harry said, sheepishly. "How did you know where to find me?"

"I just exited my compartment and took a few steps to the left. Practically neighbors, we are. I heard your friends say that they were going to a meeting, but I don't think you heard them," Jack commented.

"I didn't even know they were prefects," Harry said, puzzled.

"Well, they didn't exactly shout it to the world. They didn't take their badges out until they were out of sight of you. Maybe they didn't want you to feel bad, being who you are and all."

"It's alright," Harry said, a bit disappointed that he didn't know about any of it.

Now that he thought about it, Harry didn't really that much about himself, magically. Didn't even know he was able to perform magic. Fleetingly, he wondered about how many things he didn't know about in the Wizarding World.

"Yeah, me too. I've been away for so long that I actually did forget I could do magic for awhile there, what with my job and all that," Jack responded sympathetically.

Harry nodded absently, then looked up as he realized that he had said that aloud.

"Don't worry, Harry," Jack assured the distress teen. "You only said that last part aloud. Actually, don't feel left out. There are a lot of things that we don't know about magic. In my opinion, we haven't even begun to scratch the surface. Like in the Muggle world. There are things that we haven't even imagined that might be waiting for us to discover them. Like, for instance, a way to travel to the deepest reaches of space. No one can solve all of life's mysteries, though many have tried and are still trying."

Before anything else could be said, the trolley arrived and, even though Harry had been listening, he couldn't help but feel that he had missed something.

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Soon after the trolley had come and gone, Ron and Hermione reappeared, startled to see a strange wizard with their friend.

"Ahh, I'd been wondering if I'd be seeing you again, Missy," Jack said, spotting Hermione.

"Oh, yes. I had almost forgotten about that," Hermione blushed, sitting warily next to Jack.

"How come everyone has met him except me?!" Ron wanted to know, once he figured out that Jack was the one Harry had been telling them about.

"Well, I'm meeting you now, aren't I?" Jack intervened, before Ron and the newly dubbed 'Missy' could start another argument.

"Yeah, I guess," Ron calmed down reluctantly.

"Now, I know Potter here, and I've met Missy, but I don't know her full name, and I don't know yours," Jack coaxed gently, determined to keep the peace.

"Ron Weasley."

"Hermione Granger."

Jack nodded, filing the information away for later use.

"So, are the rumors true?" he wanted to know, an idea coming to him from a statement that Albus had made earlier.

"What rumors?" Missy asked.

"The rumors that you lot are trouble magnets. Well, are they?"

The trio smiled at each other and the threat of arguments dissipated as the three were fully encouraged to recount all of their four years as students.

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AN: Whew. Sorry I haven't been updating as much as I should. I was going to earlier, but I had a field trip to Petersburg Battlefield and I was too excited to concentrate. I loved it and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks to all who have reviewed and I hope you continue to do so.

AN2: Yes, Sirius caught Jack's scent, because Jack had boarded not too long before they arrived. Just wanted to clear that up.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving (kinda late I know), but I shall try to keep to my word and update before Christmas.

Keep reading and reviewing! Eternal love for all and may your cheese always live up to your expectations!


	10. Chapter 10

Harry Potter and the new Defense Teacher

Chapter 10

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Daniel Jackson sat in his best friend's living room. His other best friends, Samantha "Sam" Carter and Teal'c, sat in the kitchen.

"I hope Jack is doing alright," Daniel sighed, letting his head rest against the couch headrest.

"I'm sure he's fine," Sam said. "It's very hard to get to the Colonel."

"Yeah."

Sam got up to clear the breakfast dishes from the table. Jack had expressed the invitation, numerous times, to his friends that they were welcome to stay at his house. Daniel had a spare key and so did the other two, so Jack trusted them to lock up after each visit.

Teal'c assisted Sam in washing the dishes, while Daniel decided to browse around the various books scattered tastefully on the two tables in the living room.

As he was reaching for one, his elbow accidentally knocked another off the edge of the coffee table.

'Oops,' he thought, picking the book up from the floor.

Holding it, Daniel studied it with some surprise. It was a light blue color and it had an imprint of a five pointed star on the cover. The book was slightly bigger than palm sized and Daniel had a feeling that it was a journal of some kind. Flipping it open, he saw that he was right.

He was about to put it back, but stopped when he realized that the writing inside was not that of his friend's.

Daniel sat back down and, against his better judgment, started reading:

"'_Week one: September_

_September first_

_I am so glad to be back! The train is brimming with students, as it has been, and always will be, for the past centuries. I can't wait to step foot in the Great Hall for the first time in months! This is my fifth year which is also OWL year, a.k.a Ordinary Wizarding Level. That's alright, though. As long as I'm back, I'll put up with anything they care to throw at me. The skies look like they are about to open up, but I don't care. I'll even put up with **that **house if I have to. Stargazer is in the Baggage Compartment, poor chap, but when I wake up tomorrow, I'll write a dozen letters to different people so as to make it up to him. I hope Peeves stays clear from the Ravenclaws for the first two weeks, because they are still ticked off with him for flooding all the Common Rooms last year, remember? He put a charm of some kind on the water, so it wouldn't go away for almost a month. No one is still certain how he did it, but I heard some Prefects say that they would investigate Peeves to see if he would even think about something like that again this year. Merlin, I hope something happens this year. Here come some of my housemates, so I'll let you be for today._'"

"Daniel!"

He jumped a few feet into the air, his head snapping up to stare at a disapproving Sam.

"Huh?"

"That could be Colonel O'Neill's journal! What would posses you to read it? I thought you were his friend!"

"Sam, wait," Daniel cut her off. "I don't think it is Jack's journal. The handwriting should match his, but it's completely different. Besides, it wouldn't be a real journal. See? Look. It talks about ghosts and charms, so I think someone wrote a little story and was letting Jack read it. The journal must be a way to pull the reader into the story."

Reading what Daniel was gesturing to, Sam's eyebrows went up. He was right.

"Well," she said slowly, "I guess it's alright. It makes sense that the author makes it like a journal so the events seem more real."

"Indeed," Teal'c intoned. "This author is wise to use an effective technique in this way."

"Exactly," Daniel nodded. "Do you want to hear the rest?"

Sam looked at her watch. "Sure, but it has to be short. We're due at base in a half hour."

"Alright then," Daniel went to read it out loud as the other two settled down.

"'_September 2_

_Last night was fun! Headmaster Dumbledore did an exceptional job, as always. I was a little surprised when the Ravenclaw ghost came next to me and refused to leave me alone until I was safely in my dorm. I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. It was bad enough that one of the other ghosts trailed me all week last year, but then, I'm probably worrying over nothing. In any case, it's Saturday and I think that I'm going to finish a History of Magic essay, then I'm going to play some Quidditch with some of my housemates along with my team. I'm on the House Team you know. I can't wait for the season to start up again. We are in desperate need of a Keeper and a Chaser.'" _

"Wow," Sam said, getting up. "That's some story."

"Yeah, it is," Daniel commented, he and Teal'c following Sam. "I'd like to find out what happens next to this person. I'm honestly wondering if it's a boy or a girl. Hope Jack won't mind. Think he'll show up out of the blue?"

"I doubt it, but you can ask him when he calls. Let's get going."

Before they could move, however, Daniel's cell phone rang.

"Jackson."

"Hey, Danny boy! How's life treating you?" Jack's voice crackled because of static.

"Fine. Where are you?"

"I wish I could tell you. It's not that I don't want to, it's just that in the first place, it's classified and two, I don't even know. And, to be honest, I don't think I want to know. Now, where are you?"

"At your house. We just had breakfast, but we didn't know how to contact you."

"It's alright, Danny. You guys can go over to my house anytime you want. Don't worry, I trust you enough to not harm my house. Oh, before I forget, I'm afraid that you won't be able to contact me after this," Jack informed him.

"How will we be able to tell you things?" Daniel winced as the whine slipped out. He looked to Sam and Teal'c, who stood by him. They all didn't like that their friend was out of their reach, the country, and out of their view. Each of them had a bond with Jack and they had an unconscious habit of unintentionally telling him things that they wouldn't tell anyone else.

A habit that a handful of students would soon find themselves perfecting.

"Well, I'll have to clear it first, but I think I can arrange it so that General Hammond can forward it to me. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I can. Oh, sorry about this, but I have to let you get to work. There's an hour left before I'm needed, but I'm going to get organized and I need to get the rest of my orders before I head out."

"Alright, Jack. Make sure to take care of yourself and contact us as soon as you can and be careful."

"Don't worry, Daniel. I'll be sure to have copious mother hens in the months to come," Jack chuckled. "Oh, good luck with that mission and I hope you'll still talk to me after you figure it out."

"Figure what out? Jack?"

"Can't tell you now. You're an archealogist and an anthropologist to boot. You live for puzzles, you and the other two for that matter, so I'm sure you can figure it out before too long."

"What are you talking about? What puzzle? Jack? Jack! Hey!"

"Ahh, I've got to go. Bye, give my love to everyone!"

With Daniel still protesting, Jack hung up, shaking his head.

Heading out of the lavatories, he started back to his company just as it started to rain.

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As he entered the compartment, he noticed that the three had become four and that they were glancing between him and outside the window.

"And who might you be?" he asked the new boy who seemed to tense up at the question.

"N-Nev-ville L-Longbottom," he stuttered, coloring.

"Well, hello, there, Neville. It's nice to meet you. Now," Jack addressed the remaining three, "what has you lot so jumpy? ETA sixty minutes and counting. Almost there and you can get some sleep."

"Um, Jack," Hermione piped up. "Well, you see, it rained at the start of our third and fourth years…"

"Ah. Well, it is rain. Does that a lot here. I hardly think it's an omen of some kind. Even if it was, wouldn't your omen lists say something about it?"

Even Neville nodded in agreement.

Jack squeezed in between Harry and the window as the group started chattering about classes and the like. He smiled as they contemplated who their defense teacher was going to be and looked out at the falling rain.

As Jack watched, he couldn't help feeling wary about the whole situation. 'I don't know,' he thought. 'Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to dismiss the 'omen' prospect. Maybe the kids are right to think that this is a sign. But then, things that seem like omens actually aren't at all what we expect them to be…'

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AN: Sorry. Block kept me. Oh, if you forgive the near five pages, I thought I'd give myself a 17th birthday present. Sort of embarrassing to have a whole choir sing "Happy Birthday"…

Please drop me a line and I'll see you on the flip side. Oh, and I have a bit of a twist for you next. Hope you liked the journal bit. I have an idea about that. It might play a role in the future…

3-23-07 Reviews: 54


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Reviews: 60 as of last night

AN: I was just reading the other ten chapters, forgot who was writing it, and nearly reviewed my own story. --u I wonder if you can do that?

A twist or two in this.

Dis.: Own nothing familiar.

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'Fifteen minutes left,' Jack sadly noted, looking at his watch. His time to talk freely with the kids was almost up. Chances are, likely as not, that their conversations would be worded carefully when a professor was involved. That kind of free conversation with a kid was something he thrived on. Interacting with a kid was a bonus.

Jack looked out at the rain before addressing the others.

"Alright, gang, listen up. It looks like it's going to rain all weekend and maybe into Monday as well, so keep indoors unless you like getting showers with your clothes on."

"Don't worry, Jack," Harry replied. "I doubt anyone would do anything outside in this weather."

"Yeah," Ron chimed in. "Have to be mental to do that."

Jack winced as he remembered all those wet offworld missions that the team went on through the years. 'Define 'mental',' he grimaced.

Looking at the group again, he finally realized what was bugging him and got up to leave.

"What's wrong?" Hermione wanted to know.

"You lot wanna look like muggles surrounded by witches and wizards?" Jack smirked at their puzzled looks before leaving. He closed his door, but not before Missy squealed, "Our robes! We have to hurry!"

'Now, she gets it,' Jack shook his head. "What a year this is going to be."

As he waited for the train to pull into the station, he felt like he was being watched, but by a friend. 'Now that I think of it,' he mused, 'I wonder what ever happened to Ricky-boy… Maybe I can see if he's still around.'

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The Trio and Neville, who changed with the boys, gradually edged into the crowd of students so as not to get run over. Jack, still in his muggle clothes, drifted next to Harry with a newly delivered letter in hand.

"Here," Jack gave it to him. "Professor Dumbledore-eh- Albus wants to see you as soon as you hit the front door."

"I can't be in trouble already," Harry grumbled, not intending for Jack to hear.

The older wizard shrugged and noted Harry's look as he fingered the letter. "Water repellant charm," he explained.

As soon as the group was out, Jack gathered them around, pulled out his wand and said, "Antiqua."

Right away, Neville and the Trio felt like there was some sort of force field between them and the rain. "Don't worry," Jack said, as they went toward the carriages. "I expect you'll be learning that this year. Eventually."

They saw Hagrid and went over to say a quick hello. Hagrid beamed at them, but caught sight of Jack and you'd think Norbert the dragon had come to visit.

"Jack! 'Aven't seen you in a while. 'Ow ya been?" Hagrid patted Jack's shoulder, nearly sending him to the ground.

"Fine, Hagrid. I'll be by to see you again. See you." Jack and the kids were shuffled off, waving farewell to their friend as the half-giant resumed calling for the first years to begin their traditional ride across the lake.

"This is where we part ways," Jack told them, helping them find a carriage.

"You can't stay?" Neville asked, having warmed up to him.

"We'll meet again. Have fun, group," he waved and disappeared into the milling crowd of students as the four's carriage took off.

"I wonder where he's going," Hermione wondered, as the carriage bumped along.

"Dunno," Ron said.

"Will we see him again?" Neville asked Harry.

"That's what he said. I'm sure we will."

Hermione gasped. "I didn't ask him how long the charm will last."

It turned out that she needn't have worried.

The charm wore off a minute before they entered the school.

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Professor Dumbledore spotted Harry and waved him over.

"You wanted to talk to me, sir?"

"Yes. Would you step into my office? I'm sure Minerva is quite capable of handling the Sorting while I am away…"

The pair left the bustling hallway and went up to an unused classroom on the second floor.

"Sir? This isn't your office."

"As I am quite aware. Fawkes has taken a liking to this classroom and I am sure to find him. Now, while we wait, would you like me to send a message to your godfather telling him that you have arrived safely?"

"Uh, if it isn't too much trouble. I was going to, but I still have to finish a Potions essay and I don't have all the right information."

"Very well, then. Ahh, here he is," Albus exclaimed, as the phoenix 'flamed' in. Harry was reminded of the time in his second year, when he had first witnessed one of the phoenix's Burning Days.

In its beak, Fawkes carried an envelope addressed to the Headmaster, who took it and put it in his robes.

"Now that our task is complete, I believe that it is time to retire to the Great Hall for our feast. Oh, one more thing, my boy."

"Sir?" Harry waited with a hand on the door knob.

"If you need to talk, there are many who you may consider going to, myself included. Any questions you may need answered serve as a welcome distraction from my other duties." He chuckled as he led the way out. "Now, I believe it when Jonathon and George tell me that paperwork is the same, no matter where you may be," Albus mused, recalling General Hammond's visit to his office the week before. To say that George was interested was beyond an understatement.

The two entered the Hall just as the last few students were sorted into Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, respectively.

As Harry slipped in next to Seamus Finnegan, Professor Dumbledore began speaking.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I shan't bore you with details just yet as I am sure you will like to compare summer experiences before bed, so let the feast begin!"

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As the students dug in for a few minutes of solid eating, Jack surreptitiously slid in next to Professor Sprout, Head of Hufflepuff House.

"Jack, how nice to see you again," the portly Herbology teacher greeted him, spooning some corn onto her plate.

"You, too, Professor Sprout." Jack had always liked her and had done quite well in her class, up to the point where he could just look at a magical plant and identify it and what potions it is used for. He didn't dare tell that to Carter, who had an affinity for collecting any kind of plant samples that weren't carnivorous as well as soil samples.

"Are you teaching Defense this year, then?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'm sort of looking forward to it."

"Just look out for those Weasley Twins and their friend, Lee Jordan," she nodded toward the Gryffindor Table, to where the three had their heads together.

"Thanks for the warning."

"Any time, dear. Peas?" She held the bowl out to him.

"Sure. I really missed this cooking."

No more was heard as Jack dug in.

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"Harry, look up at the Staff Table!" Hermione hissed at him, urgently.

He did as he was told and did a double take. Jack was sitting up there, next to Professor Sprout, talking and eating.

"He's a teacher and he didn't tell us!" Hermione felt a bit betrayed.

"Hermione," Ginny Weasley soothed her. "Did you think to ask him?"

"No."

"He wasn't hiding it, Mione," Ron said, on Harry's other side. "We could have just asked him."

"Yeah, I suppose," she said, uncertainly. "But we should keep our eye on him, just in case it was an act."

Even though Harry didn't want to think that Jack would really be a threat to him, he didn't want to end up dead, either.

"Alright," Harry reluctantly agreed, Ron echoing a second later, not liking it.

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Meanwhile, back at the SGC, Daniel was in the Canteen, having some coffee and reading another entry.

Sam and Teal'c joined him a minute later.

"Anything on the journal?" Sam wanted to know.

"Not yet."

Sam munched on her blue Jell-O and Teal'c savored an oatmeal cookie, when Daniel's eyes grew wide.

"Guys, I think Jack is writing this story, too. Look."

He handed over the journal to Sam and Teal'c read it as she did. It really did seem like Jack and this other person were co-authors, as evidenced by Jack's familiar handwriting following the other.

" ' _**First week: October,**_

**_Hey, it's Jack. Thought I'd refresh your memory about Ricky. Every month we'll switch ownership unless the other is too tired. Don't tell anyone about Ricky, though. Things are hectic as it is without people knowing about Rick and me being mates, let alone about Rick at all. I once again hope you don't spoil our fun. That's the bell. See you after Charms."'_**

"So," Sam said, handing it back. "The Colonel must be helping to move the story along."

"That's how it's looking to me."

"Well, I'd like to know more about this 'Rick' friend of his," Sam mused.

"Me, too," Daniel finished his coffee, before leaving with the book. Daniel didn't want to admit it, but he was a little jealous about his best friend having another best friend without him knowing it. He would bet anything that this 'Rick' is the other author and not just a character in the story.

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"Now that we have all been fed and watered," Albus stood up to deliver his usual announcements, "there are some things to discuss."

Harry then noticed another person up there, next to Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher and Head of Ravenclaw.

The unfamiliar wizard looked to be in his mid thirties, had short brown hair and grey eyes that didn't seem to miss a thing. He looked to be semi-friendly and nodded at Harry as he caught his eye. Harry nodded back and resumed his attention to the Headmaster.

"Now, as you may have noticed and puzzled over," Albus continued. "We will be having two new faces join our staff. First, Professor Jack O'Neill, who has kindly offered," Jack shot him a look, "to be our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." Albus waited until the clapping died down, particularly from a certain group of Gryffindors, who, though wanting to keep their guards up, couldn't help but clap hard.

"Next, one of our regular faces has taken the next two years off." He waited again for the talking to cease. "Allow me to introduce Professor Albert H. Wright… Who, until further notice will be… your new History of Magic teacher."

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AN: Ha! Didn't see _that_ coming, did you?

And I am nowhere near finished with the journal yet. Just won't be seeing it for a chapter or two.

Anyone want me to issue a challenge?

Also, I don't want to seem nosy, but for reasons completely out of my control, if you wouldn't terribly mind, could you identify if you are male or female? I don't know why… Don't have to if you don't want to.

May your Easter be full of fun and your baskets be deep enough for your goodies of assorted varieties!

(And for you snow hares, may your snow not pass your knees. Or ankles.)

Have fun.

HyperMint

4-4-07

PS: Wright is my French teacher's last name. Don't tell her that, though. I'll never be able to face her if she knew…

To csyte,

Is that good for you? Thanks again for the compliment. XD

To everyone else,

Thank you so much for the reviews.

SEVEN PAGES?! Hmm… New record…


	12. Chapter 12

Harry Potter and the new Defense Teacher

_**One little word here and a reference to my story Jack's Luck.**_

Chapter 12

Jack O'Neill stretched as sunlight streamed in through the windows. He opened his eyes fully and surveyed his surroundings again.

A four poster bed was tucked in the corner, tastefully arranged in shades of blue, green, some red here and there, and accompanied by some shades of gray. The rest of his quarters was the same way. The small, but cozy living room scattered with beanbags in case a student happened into his rooms for a visit for advice, homework help, or just because. There was even a little kitchen that he demanded he have. For some reason, it didn't sit well with him that he should, Merlin forbid, get used to someone having else cook when he was perfectly capable of his own meals. Though denying it completely, he also knew full well that anyone could walk into the kitchen and mix in certain ingredients to shorten one's life and he kept telling himself that he just wanted to be sure his food was what it was supposed to be and not that he was being paranoid.

In the living room, there was also a fireplace, armchairs, sofa, even a bookcase where he had copies of all the books that were assigned this year so that he could help any needing it. Surveying it, he snickered, wondering what Carter and Daniel's reactions would be if they knew he was willingly doing research, let alone homework. He liked the surprised reactions he got when he let a bit of knowledge slip about something no one would expect him to know. After all, he really wasn't as dumb as he let people believe he was.

Shaking his head, he went and fixed up his famous pancakes with chocolate chips in it that he occasionally treated his friends to. Getting syrup and the rest of the necessaries, he thought about the bombshell that had been dropped the night before.

To say that he was pissed was beyond understatement.

He hated being in the dark and Albus knew it well. Jack had stormed into his office after the students had been carted off to their respected Common Rooms and had a serious talk with Albus about being left out of things. Albus had tried to reason with him and tell him that the Ministry had recommended him, but Jack had countered that Daniel would be more qualified to teach History and that the Headmaster should have screened him anyway.

Thinking back, Jack had a feeling that something would happen with this guy in the school, but wasn't sure what or when. Sure he was nice enough, but Jack couldn't be so sure. He decided to keep an eye on him during the year.

Finishing his pancakes, Jack just put the dishes in the sink, remembering his bargain with the house elves: any mess or cleaning would be left up to them, dishes included.

Getting his brown robes out, he shook his head. He hadn't worn robes in a long time, so used to muggle clothes as he was.

Seeing a mirror in the room, he checked out his appearance. Friendly brown eyes and tousled peppered hair, decked out in brown robes that brought attention to his eyes.

"Not bad, dear," the mirror commented in a voice not alto or soprano, but somewhere in-between.

"Thanks," Jack grinned at his reflection, before turning away to go down to the Great Hall. While waiting for Flitwick to charm his coffee maker, he would have to make do with what the elves made, which wasn't all that bad.

Heading out, he made sure that he had his wand up his sleeve. He was sort of hesitant to go down, seeing that a fair amount of students should be up. A certain group in particular, then mentally slapped himself. He handled system lords, come up against death thousands of times and then some, so he had no reason being afraid of a bunch of kids whether they had resources or not.

Coming to that, he squared his shoulders, chided himself for acting childishly and headed down.

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Harry and Ron stumbled downstairs, much to the amusement of Hermione, who was waiting for them.

"It's about time," she teased them.

"Yeah, yeah. Can we eat now?" Ron grumbled good-naturedly heading for the portrait.

"Sure," Hermione chuckled, Harry following behind, deep in thought.

Harry wasn't sure what to do about Jack. 'Or Professor O'Neill, now,' he thought sadly. He really liked calling him 'Jack', too.

Hermione looked back at him and smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Harry," she said. "We'll need to test the waters a bit. After that we're sure to know how to act around him."

"Sure, 'Mione," Harry smiled uncertainly.

22222222222222222222222222222222222222

Jack didn't want to sit at the staff table this morning, so he sat at the Gryffindor table, making note to sit at another table later so as not to garner a reputation for having favorites.

Sipping his coffee and munching on a bowl of chocolate chips, he watched as the Golden Trio entered the Hall, Ron heading straight for his customary seat. Hermione and Harry followed.

Jack sat and watched as they settled in, before making his move.

"Hey, kids. Sleep alright?" smiling as the three jumped.

"Um, yes, Professor O'Neill," Missy answered for them all. Ron nodded, eating happily, and Harry just shrugged.

Jack frowned at the title. Having decided this beforehand, he said, "Kids, I know that you might not like me right now, but I think classes start on Monday. Now, until then, I don't want to hear any of this 'Professor O'Neill' nonsense from you three, especially. If you do that, then I will be a happy wizard. Deal?"

Harry looked up and smiled shyly. "Sure, Jack. Will do."

Jack nodded and sat down next to him. "Good. Now, I would still like to be friends with you all. Think you can stand me?"

"Well, Jack," Hermione hesitated, "we would like to get to know you. If that's alright."

"Don't worry. Just want to make sure that you won't avoid me or glare at me in class. Or call me nasty names behind my back, though I'm pretty sure you all won't call me names that I'm used to being called by now."

"Jack," Harry spoke up, drowning his pancakes in syrup. "Don't worry about it. If you promise not to act like a git, then we promise to consider you a friend."

"Deal. But, we might have to do something about this while in class. I don't want anyone to think I've got favorites so don't be jealous if I don't give you special attention," Jack teased.

"Right."

Taking a sip of coffee, Jack looked up at the ceiling that had been charmed to look like the sky.

"Doesn't look good," he commented.

The Trio looked up also.

Gray clouds were increasing steadily as the rain became thick sheets. Jack shuddered as he heard the wind, audible through the mostly empty Hall.

"Jack?"

He looked to see Harry gazing at him in concern.

"I'm good. Just remembering this time I was accidentally locked in my office at work. That was an adventure, let me tell you."

"What happened?" Missy wanted to know, Ron munching on his cereal as he kept an ear trained on the story, wanting to know himself.

"Well, hmmm… I'm not sure I should tell you yet."

"Why not?" Ginny Weasley piped up, having just arrived.

"It's complicated. Well, I suppose I could tell you without specifics…"

Before he could say anything else, Professor Vector came up to him. "Jack, the teachers are having a meeting."

"Be right there," he sighed.

Vector left and Jack moodily finished off chocolate chips and coffee. "I hate meetings," he grumbled to the amused onlookers.

"It's alright, Professor," Ginny said. "You can tell us later."

"Sure. Oh, that reminds me. You look like Weasley's sister."

"Yup. Ginny, sir."

"Well, Ginny, it's Jack until Monday as I was telling this group. Well, it was great meeting you, but I'm gonna make nice with the others, so I'll trust you not to get in any life threatening danger 'til I get back."

"Don't worry, Jack," Harry said. "We don't usually get in trouble until middle of September."

"That's supposed to make me feel better?" Jack groused. "Now I'm even more worried."

Jack stood up, only to sit back down as an owl almost crashed into his face. "That was close."

"Oh, the mail!" Missy exclaimed, looking up at the arriving owls. "They're going to be all wet."

"Not while I'm here, they won't. I took the added precaution of putting some water repelling charms up," Jack proudly told them. "I had a feeling we'd be needing them."

"You must think of everything," Missy mused, receiving her copy of the _Daily Prophet_.

"Well, it'd be kind of hard not to, what with my muggle job and all." Seeing the curious looks on their faces, he added, "Can't tell you or I'll get in a lot of trouble. And even if I could, I doubt you'd believe me."

"Why?" Ginny wanted to know.

Jack just smiled at her, not saying anymore on the matter.

Harry, finished with the pancakes, took a strip of bacon and munched on it thoughtfully. 'It must be really big if Jack won't tell.'

A tawny school owl appeared and dropped a manila envelope in front of Jack, who, delighted, picked it up and tucked it away, much to the wonderment of his new friends.

"Jack? Who was it from?" Missy asked, still getting used to calling a professor by his name.

"Oh, a friend said he would forward some work to me while I'm here. I'm not really looking forward to it, but it would give me something to do in my dow-uh, spare time. At least until classes start, that is."

The others looked satisfied with the answer.

"Jack," Ron finally piped up. "Do you play Quidditch?"

"Used to, actually. On my house team."

"Really?" Harry asked, interested. "What position and what house?"

Jack gave him the smile that he gave to Ginny. "I'll let you figure that out. I figure that you all are the same as my, er, friends back home and that you won't be happy unless you have a puzzle to piece together. When you think it over, let me know. If you don't get any ideas, I'll tell you when I leave the school."

"Sounds like a challenge," Missy's eyes lit up at prospect of a puzzle. She had, apparently, gotten used to all the mysteries over the last four years and it had gotten to the point where she really wouldn't be very happy unless she had a challenge to puzzle out.

"If you want it to be," Jack shook his head at the common reaction that he got from Carter, Daniel, Janet, even Teal'c on occasion. Apparently, puzzles made the world go round, when you think about it.

Seeing the other new face, Wright, coming up to him, Jack stood up.

"Ah, there you are," Professor Wright said in a soft baritone with the slightest hint of an accent. "The meeting's about to start."

"Alright, I get the picture. I'm going, I'm going… Don't have to be pushy about it."

Wright nodded, a quirk of the lips, then turned to leave the Great Hall.

Turning back to the kids, Jack grinned at their amused looks. "Guess you now know I despise meetings with a passion."

"Sure," Harry grinned.

"Well, I'll see you lot later. Stay out of trouble. Or try to," Jack added, before leaving, muttering about how someone up there hates him with a passion and showing it with the one thing he hates more than some other things he could be wasting his time with.

2222222222222222222222222222222222

The rest of the day passed slowly for the students of Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The Trio spent the day finishing up homework and catching up with friends. Harry looked out of the window more than once, wishing that the weather was better than it was. Thinking on it, he was glad that he was friends with Jack.

Jack seemed quite the character and Harry really wanted to know more about him. Jack really reminded him of his godfather, Sirius Black. Both had a sense of humor, both liked him well enough to watch out for him…

Harry sighed. He really was glad that he had so many friends that looked out for him, but he wasn't sure if that was a good thing. Everywhere he seemed to be, trouble seemed to be right behind him.

He, Ron, and Hermione sat in the library, revising their essays for Potions Class. Hermione's copy of the _Daily Prophet_ sat spread out next to them. Harry casually ran an eye over the articles, finally landing on an article about a robbery that had occurred the night before.

Apparently, the only thing that was stolen was a blood red ruby that was being ready to be shaped the next morning.

Harry shook his head at the scant information. "I didn't know that there was such a thing as a jewelry store in the Wizarding world."

"Oh, sure," Hermione said flippantly.

Ron nodded. "Yeah. Mum and Ginny talk about it all the time. Guess I forgot that you didn't know much about the Wizarding world. Sorry, mate."

"It's alright."

After a last glance at the article, Harry shook his head and put thoughts about it in the back of his mind.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Jack muttered darkly about lying teachers and rigged clocks as he stormed into the Great Hall for dinner.

"Pro- Jack," Missy and the other two came up to him. "How did the meeting go?"

"I really don't want to talk about it right now. Mostly just procedures and junk. What snooping have you been doing, while I was in torture, uh, I mean, meetings," he said with a carefully straight face.

"We finished up some things and the like," Missy summed up.

"A typical day in the life of a fifth year," Jack intoned.

"Pretty much," Harry commented.

Students started piling in, so they went their separate ways, to the Staff table and the Gryffindor table, respectively.

7777777777777777777777777777777777

The next day passed a little more quickly for everyone.

"I don't know why they have to wait until Monday to give us schedules," Ron groused.

Harry agreed as the three went into the Hall for lunch. "They like keeping us in suspense, I bet."

Jack rubbed his eyes as he came up behind them.

"Morning, kids," he sleepily greeted.

"**Morning**," the three chorused.

"Did you sleep alright?" Harry wanted to know.

"Had to drop by the base last night. My employer went out and I had to make sure everything was running smoothly."

"Base?" Missy questioned, sure that she had heard it before.

"I'm not thinking clearly enough to explain right now. Maybe later."

8888888888888888888888888888

Jack shook his head to clear it of the cotton inside. He had a good sleep and a good visit.

Carter, Daniel, Janet, and Lou Ferretti were there when he arrived. They just asked a few general questions and left it at that.

The first three stayed to chat, but had to get to work right away. Daniel mentioned that he had a puzzle or two to figure out and Jack said that he was glad that everyone was keeping busy. Carter and Daniel shared a look and smiled in agreement. Janet said that she had to get back, lest she wanted to find the Infirmary in a different state than the one she had left it in.

Lou stayed a bit longer, wanting to talk some more.

When Lou left, Jack was a little freaked out to see his friend smiling at air for no apparent reason.

Shaking his head of the memories, Jack walked into the Hall just in time to catch some glares between Slytherins and a few Gryffindors.

'Well,' he thought, shaking his head. 'We really need to work on this whole house rivalry thing. Nothing's ever gonna get accomplished if they're gonna be at each other's throats. I have to do something about this.'

As dinner went on, he noticed something about Harry and, strangely enough, Draco Malfoy that he couldn't really put his finger on. He decided to wait to deal with the rivalry thing until he knew what was bugging him about the two.

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AN: sorry. 8 pages to make up.

I honestly had no idea how popular this story seems to be…

I have things to do so I'll let you go. Things like updating other stories…

5-20-07


	13. Chapter 13

Harry Potter Chapter 13

In the early hours of the morning, in Gryffindor Tower, there was usually a handful up and about. In the early hours of this morning, however, there was no need to get up early to finish an assignment or anything like that.

That was not the reason for Harry Potter's state of awareness, however.

In fact, had it not been for the strangest dream that he could ever, vaguely, remember having, which was indeed saying something, then young Mr. Potter would still be asleep like his fellow housemates.

Harry stretched as he came to full wakefulness in his cozy four poster. As usual, the curtains were drawn around his bed. As per his routine, Harry got up, showered, redressed, then traveled to the common room where many a memory had been, and will, be made.

With the fact that this was Harry, it was slightly unusual for him to be up, on his own will, with a good half hour before breakfast officially started.

Sighing, Harry took a place in the window and watched as the sun came up, clouds occasionally dotted the otherwise blue expanse of sky.

Leaning his head against the window, he noted that it would be great if he could fly for a bit. Then started as he remembered that it was supposed to rain. Casting a last look, he turned to leave the Tower…

… and jumped as brown eyes connected with his.

"Professor! I didn't hear you," Harry put a hand on his heart to calm it as Professor Jack O'Neill chuckled.

"I figured as much. Don't get your hopes up, though. In my expert opinion, it will rain before the day is out," Jack said, confidently.

Unsure, but deciding to play along, Harry nodded. "Yes, sir."

Jack winced, getting the brief feeling he was talking to Carter, before shaking his head.

"Oh, did you need something, Professor?" Harry wanted to know.

"Actually, now you mention it, contrary to what you may think, I've been sent here for one of the transfers. A Nick Callis, I believe. I think he's a second year, but I could be wrong about that."

Harry nodded as the minutes ticked closer to breakfast.

"So, professor, ready to start the year?"

"I'm hoping about nothing but. To be honest, I never really taught students. Trained yes, taught no. I'm also hoping that I'll get used to being called 'professor' instead of what I usually get called."

"What do you usually get called?" Harry was very interested in Jack now.

"Have a couple hours? I can name a right bit of them, actually. Ahh, Missy. Hope you had a nice sleep," Jack spotted Hermione Granger coming down from the dorms that she shared with Lavender Brown and Pavarti Patil, twin to Padma Patil from Ravenclaw.

"Good morning, Professor. Do you need anything?" Hermione asked, always ready to assist a teacher.

"Have a Nick Callis in here somewhere? Albus wants to see him."

"He should be down soon," Hermione answered as she came to stand next to Harry.

"Better be. I do have some classes to do after all. Not to mention that I need to get started on some of that work that was dropped off the other day. Oh, that reminds me," Jack rummaged around in the pocket of his slate gray robes and extracted a piece of the newspaper to hold out to Harry.

"Uh, thanks, professor, but I already know about the robbery," Harry scanned the article again.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I knew about it, too, but I meant the other side."

Turning it over sheepishly, Harry scanned another article:

" ' _The Council has decided to reveal themselves only as needed. Usually, Spiritwalkers are not very social with the Wizarding World, but 'anticipation is all the rage,' so cites Dr. Alyssa Johnson, head Healer of Celina's Council. Many members are indeed very excited about finally being able to mingle with magic folk and can occasionally be seen at local areas.'"_

"The Council?" Harry looked up. "Who are they?"

"Celina's Council is a group of highly advanced beings known as 'spiritwalkers'. They are known to be a sort of mediator between the Spirit world and the Mortal Realm, but they are secretive and no one has been able to gather any more information," Hermione said, glad to see that the trivial fact was not as trivial as she had first thought.

"I was actually expecting you to answer, Missy. Five points for clearing that up," Jack deadpanned, Hermione beamed proudly at having been able to earn points already.

As the three talked, more students had trickled in and Jack decided to get to why he was there in the first place.

"You can have that if you want. Not really sure why I picked it out," Jack mused, rubbing the inside of his left wrist. "Ahh, well. Callis!"

"Here!"

"Front and center."

Aware of the blank looks he was getting, he scratched the back of his head and said, " Sorry, I mean, come here. Headmaster Dumbledore sent me to get you."

As Jack and his charge left, Hermione voiced Harry's thoughts.

"Do you think we should remember what ' front and center' means? He might be using that a lot this year."

"I reckon we should. Just in case," Harry suggested, Hermione nodding in agreement.

A few minutes later, Ron Weasley stumbled down and the three headed down to breakfast, where their schedules lay waiting.

AN Sorry it's so short. Kinda tired here.

6-29-07

Next chapter we get to see some classes.

Note: The Council is my own creation as is Nick Callis and Dr. Johnson.

A word to the wise; Keep this chapter in mind. The Council will end up playing a role in the unveiling of this 'Ricky' from the journal, but I'm not saying when.

Another word to the wise: Harry has already met some Council members. Care to guess?

Jack will be next up to meet a member.

The other word to the wise: don't forget the jewelry store thing. It may come in handy…

Final word to the readers: if you get the chance, go ride Busch Gardens's _Griffon_. It is so worth it. Said 'readers', not 'wise'… XD


	14. Chapter 14

Hope everyone had a groovy July Fourth, late though it is. I am going to try to post this before the last book comes out. I am all a tremble!

Chapter 14

"Bloody hell, mates," Ron said, shoveling eggs, bacon, and toast onto his plate. "I hope the Twins come up with a good prank soon. Good revenge on the Slytherins."

Neville Longbottom was being escorted to the Hospital Wing because one of the Slytherins had tripped him up and he sprained his wrist, the same wrist, interestingly enough, that Neville had broken during that flying lesson in first year.

"That's not nice, Ron," Hermione tutted. "Pranks don't solve anything."

"Tell that to Remus and Snuffles, Hermione," Harry grinned. "That would go over real well, I bet."

Hermione just huffed and put jam on her toast.

"What would go over real well?"

The trio turned to find Professor O'Neill grinning at them.

"I was just telling Ron that pranks never solve anything. Don't you agree, Professor?"

Jack just quirked an eyebrow at her.

"I think you just asked the wrong person, Missy," he mused. "Just over the holidays, I pulled a good one on a guy who was giving one of my friends a hard time a few days before."

"Professor!"

Jack shrugged. "He had it coming."

"What did you do?" Ron wanted to know, as Hermione just rolled her eyes and sipped her pumpkin juice.

"Turned his hair pink and put a sign on him that said 'I love the color pink. It makes me feel good about myself'. My boss thought it was funny," Jack added to a scandalized Hermione while Ron and Harry roared with laughter.

"Miss Granger, Messrs Potter and Weasley," Professor McGonagall handed them their timetables. "Ah, Jonathon, are you ready for your first day of teaching?"

"Teaching?" Jack looked shocked. "No one said anything about me teaching! I thought I was just here to observe."

McGonagall just looked at him in slight amusement before moving on.

"Says here we don't get you til tomorrow before dinner," Ron informed him, disappointed.

"Someone is out to get me," Harry said miserably. "We have DADA with the Slytherins."

"Harry," Hermione said patiently, scanning her list. "That doesn't mean anyone's out to get you."

Jack looked over his shoulder. "You have double Potions with the Ravenclaws, after Herbology with the Hufflepuffs," he cited.

"My point," Harry said to Hermione. "Double Potions with Snape."

Shaking her head, Hermione just gave up and turned her attention to her breakfast.

"My first class isn't until right before lunch, with seventh year Gryffindors and Slytherins," Jack said to Ron and Harry.

"Let us know how that goes," Ron winced in sympathy.

"Sure, you betcha," Jack nodded before heading over to the Hufflepuff Table.

A few minutes later, they left the Great Hall for Charms.

"What do you think of that new Defense professor?" Blaise Zabini asked as they headed to Transfiguration class.

"He seems competent enough," Pansy Parkinson commented, Millicent Bulstrode nodding.

Draco Malfoy just listened to the conversation, with his head down. He knew the Professor was competent, scary even.

He just didn't know what to make of him. 'At least,' Draco thought, 'he couldn't be as bad as other people I know. No one can be as bad as them.'

XXXXXXXXX

The day slowly passed until it was time for Jack to get his thoughts together for the first class of the year. Deciding to go easy with them this time around, Jack had put together a little questionnaire for them to fill out so that he knew what to think of the kids.

As the students filed in, Jack patiently waited for them to get settled. When the bell rang, Jack waved his wand at the door, closing it.

"Okay, kids," Jack started. "No books for today or the next time I have you. I thought we'd start out nice and easy for the first week of classes. Nothing too stressful. So, quills and inkwells out so we can start this."

The kids all got their things out or put away and waited as Jack passed out a two page packet, both sides filled with questions.

"Now, I want all these questions filled to the best of your ability and nothing less. Clear? Start."

The class started.

XXXXXXXXXX

A half hour before lunch a Slytherin, Justin Olis, threw down his quill and said loudly, "Why do we have to do this?"

"Well," Jack paused, "I thought I'd need to know you a little better if we are going to be spending a year together."

"What about fighting?" Olis demanded to know. "This is defense class!"

Some other Slytherins agreed, throwing their quills down, too.

"Aw, stuff it, Olis," Fred Weasley piped up. "Let the Prof do what he wants."

"No, it's alright, Weasley," Jack said, pulling his wand out. "If that's what you think we should do, then by all means, put your things up and let's try this."

The Gryffindors grumbled and did what they were told, the others eagerly getting ready.

Jack waved his wand and all the desks, chairs, and bags slid to the walls and mats, pillows, and other things appeared. The class got into a circle with Jack in the middle and waited for instructions.

"I was hoping to put this off, but since ya'll are so hyped for this, I guess I can deal. So, Olis," Jack turned to him. "Why don't you go first?"

Olis was only too happy to oblige.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ron, Harry, and Hermione strode into the Hall, glad to know that Care of Magical Creatures was right after lunch. At least they could handle dangerous creatures instead of Potions.

"Can you believe Snape set a three foot essay on the first day of classes?" Ron ranted.

"Professor Snape," Hermione corrected absently, heading to her usual spot.

"He must be in a bad mood," Harry thought.

"Must be. Hey, Professor!" Ron spotted Jack just entering the Hall.

"Hey," Jack grimaced.

"Something wrong, Professor O'Neill?" Hermione asked in concern.

"Eh, you could say that…" Jack shifted uncomfortably.

Harry tilted his head to the side, before glancing around. "Hey, where'd the seventh year Gryffindors disappear to?"

Hermione looked around, too. "Not only them but the Slytherins are gone, too."

"Yeah, about that." Jack winced. "Ah, listen. Jordan and the Twins Weasley are going to be persona non grata for a bit. As well as the other seventh years."

"Why?" Harry was curious.

"Hmm, well… See… I had a lesson planned out, but I think I'll have to finish it later. Ah, see, one of the Slytherins decided that he didn't like the lesson and strove for something a bit more… physical."

The trio waited, along with their surrounding housemates and other on-lookers.

"Well, I never thought that this might happen, but only at Hogwarts has my belief system been totally turned around." Jack ran a hand through his hair and continued, "I'm pretty sure that I somehow did something that has never been done, before today."

"Spit it out, Professor," one of the Ravenclaws urged.

"Well, see, I don't know how else to say this so I'll just, er, tell you in the quickest way I can. The reason that half the 7th years won't be making an appearance is, uh, because, ah, I kinda went over-board and landedthemallintheHospitalWingfortherestoftheweek."

Jack then turned and swiftly ran from the Hall, the kids trying to work out what he just said.

Ginny turned to Ron. "Did he just say that he landed half the 7th years in the Hospital Wing?"

"I think that's what he said," Ron was in a daze.

"Maybe we should find the twins and let them explain or Angelina Johnson," Hermione suggested, still trying to understand how a professor could possibly land his _entire_ class in the Hospital Wing.

Harry just blinked, then started laughing at the absurdity of it.

XXXXXX

AN: Details next chapter. If you don't get it, you will. Also, I wasn't sure if Angelina was a 7th year or not, but since I am writing this story, a 7th year she is.

I will not be writing til I finish the last book, so review and bug me to finish. I am excited! Tomorrow is the day!

Fri. July 20 73 reviews


	15. Chapter 15

In honor of tomorrow, the fic's first birthday, I've decided to put y'all out of your misery and update.

Chapter 15

Jack walked into The Three Broomsticks just in time for the lunch hour rush. Heading up to Rosemerta, he ordered a butterbeer and some cookies. Looking around, he spotted a table that had a solitary witch sitting there, immersed in the depths of a book.

"Excuse me, miss," Jack approached her. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all," she smiled as she looked up, her grey eyes welcoming the break behind rectangle glasses.

"Thanks." Jack sat down across from her and studied her as she went back to her book '_So You Want To Be A Healer?_' She had long brown hair tied up in a half bun and was wearing a teal jacket, teal and purple striped t-shirt, and teal wristbands.

"I know, I know," she smiled, as if reading his mind. "I am partial to teal, but I fancy blue. Any shade of it. Teal is my… signature color, you could say. Oh, sorry, my name is AJ Johnson."

"Professor Jack O'Neill at your service."

A waitress set down their orders and Jack had to blink. Their orders were the _exact_ same.

Apparently, AJ was as surprised as he was. "Well, I wonder if this means something," she mused.

"So," Jack said as he reached for a cookie. "Is 'AJ' a nickname?"

"You got it. My friends and co-workers call me 'AJ', though. Don't get me wrong, I like my name, cept it's kinda easier to just call me 'AJ'. And I get a bit of a perverse pleasure in driving everyone insane trying to figure out what it stands for," AJ smiled, mischief in her eyes.

"Don't suppose you'll tell me?"

"Nope. Oh, since you said 'professor', why aren't you up at the castle teaching?"

"Well, ah… Mmm. Bad day," he settled on, sipping his butterbeer.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and it wasn't going as easy as I had hoped it would."

"Why?" AJ was interested. "What happened?"

"See, I was giving the kids, seventh year Gryffindors and Slytherins no less, a questionnaire so that I would know them a little better. Half hour before lunch, one of the Slytherins decided that defense class meant fighting and, as we are fighting muggle style, he thought we should get an early start. So, I got the room ready and the class went ahead and stood in a circle with me in the middle." He finished a cookie and washed it down with his drink.

"The one who started it was the one I had chosen to go first. He was a bit too eager and I easily had him on the floor. He knew I was going easy on him and said to me, 'If we were up against someone trying to attack us, they wouldn't be so lenient.' I told him that he was right, but I wasn't trying to attack him so I had an excuse. Well, he and his housemates didn't take that well and said, 'If I was a good Defense instructor I would imitate the behavior exhibited by the enemy.' I tried to warn them, but the Gryffindors suddenly decided that they agreed and I had to take them all on. So, I had to go all out on the kids and I guess I got a bit carried away, because before I knew it, all of them were out for the count. I have a lot of training in fighting and have been surrounded by the enemy more than once. I'm not exactly sure, but I think I had a flashback. It's happened before. Now, they're all in the Hospital Wing and I did enough damage to take'em out for a few days."

AJ looked at him thoughtfully, before saying, "It wasn't your fault. You did try to warn them, but they insisted. And you have to admit, it was a sure fire way of ending up unconscious, taking on an experienced fighter like that. It was that one student that should take the blame. He started it and the others were just caught up. The Gryffindors, at any rate."

Jack nodded and finished the rest of his cookies. "I told the nurse and she said that she would talk to Albus about it."

"Well, compared to experience, that wasn't a bad day. It was a rough start to what is sure to be an interesting year."

"I know. I've had bad days even worse, too. Can't talk about them though," he added.

"Okay. Well, I guess I'll just have to talk about my bad day then." AJ drained the last of her butterbeer and continued, "It was two months ago and some friends and I decided to visit one of our other friends down in France. It was storming by the time we got there and we didn't want to go out. I think I should mention that it was an old mansion and my room was at the end of the first floor. I should also mention that I have an ability to find trapdoors and secret passageways without even trying. Not only that, but our troubles all began with our hostess assuring us that there were absolutely no trapdoors or secret passages to be found. Boy, did I prove her wrong…"

JJJJJJ

Harry sat in Gryffindor tower finishing his Potions essay. Well, that and worrying over Jack.

When he ran out of the Hall during lunch, Jack was embarrassed as heck. After that, he hadn't reappeared and Harry knew for fact that he wasn't on the grounds, as he kept checking the Marauder's Map.

On a happier note, Sirius had written to him and Harry opened it as soon as he could:

_Hey, kiddo!_

_I'm here with Moony and we are doing great. I hear your friend is teaching Defense and there's a new History of Magic teacher. I don't think I need to tell you to be extremely cautious around them. We all know your track record with Defense teachers after all. Wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on the other one, either._

_I know that look you must have on your face right now, and I have to agree: Jack seems like a good guy. Just to be sure, though. But I wouldn't worry. If he's not out to get you, then you have an ally on your side. But you should keep an eye on this new teacher. I haven't met him yet._

_Now that I'm done being Godfatherly and all, I want to hear about some mischief from you. Don't care who does it. Just report it and I, if not Moony, can have a good laugh about it._

_That's it for now, Prongslet._

_Padfoot_

Hearing the portrait open, Harry turned away from re-reading the letter for the umpteenth time and spotted his friends walking towards him.

"Going to dinner, Harry?" Hermione wanted to know.

"Sure. Maybe Jack'll have shown up."

"He should," Ron nodded, leading them out.

"I wonder where he's been this entire time," Hermione mused. "Hasn't shown up on the Map yet has he?"

"No."

HHHHHH

The Trio caught up with Ginny, Lavender Brown, Padma and Parvati Patil, Neville, and a handful of others just outside the Great Hall doors. Just as the Trio was going in, they felt a tug on their collars and turned to see the object of their earlier conversation striding toward them.

"Professor O'Neill! Where have you been?" Hermione asked.

"Hogsmeade, Missy. Why? Don't tell me you were worried about me," Jack teased.

Hermione flushed. "I was looking forward to your class."

Jack seemed to take her answer and proceeded to herd them into the Great Hall. "I was talking to this witch I met. Seems nice, even told me about this adventure she and some friends went on in France."

"So, Professor," Hermione sat down in her usual seat. "Won't you tell us what happened?"

"Sorry, Missy. You'll have to ask one of them. I've already told the story once today."

"So, mate," Ron turned to Harry. "Want to go flying after dinner?"

"Don't," Jack shook his head. "Wait til Thursday."

Harry, Hermione, and Ron just looked at him blankly.

Jack just smiled, glanced up at the ceiling, and walked toward the Staff Table.

The Trio looked at each other and looked up, themselves.

"Well, what do you know," Harry said to himself, as he studied the gray clouds just beginning to issue the first of many downpours. "He was right."

SSSSSS

AN: Thanks to all who reviewed and I am proud to announce that I now have 80 reviews. Let's see if we can make it to 100 before we get to chapter 20, kay?

FYI: we will be encountering AJ again in the near future.

Harry and friends will be in Jack's class next chapter.

8-7-07


	16. Chapter 16

Harry Potter and the new Defense Teacher

AN: Remember the chapter where SG-1 gets stuck on Thor's ship for 12 hours? I'm calling it _12 Hours. _You can find it on my bio.

Anyone who's interested: If you dare to take the challenge, I've got general details about my Teacher Jack Challenge also posted on my bio. Of course, I might need to tweak it a little…

I need reviews, people. Don't make me beg… Seriously.

Chapter 16

Harry Potter poked at his toast. He was the only Gryffindor up at such an early hour, but one of the few school wide.

It annoyed him that he couldn't get to sleep without that recurring vague dream. This time, he remembered a big ring of some kind with water in the middle. At least, he thought it was water. Certainly didn't look like any water he'd ever seen. Then again, this was the Wizarding World he was talking about. Things like that could be an everyday thing, for all he knew. It just didn't occur to him that it could be anywhere but the World.

"Funny, didn't peg you as a morning person," Harry looked up at Professor O'Neill.

"Had a strange dream, was all."

"Ah. If you're not too busy, could you step into my office for a minute?"

"Alright," Harry took the remains of his breakfast, as he hurried after his teacher.

They headed down familiar corridors to the Defense room. As Harry looked around, Jack hurried up to his office, leaving the younger wizard to walk around the room. Pictures lined the walls, the subjects not moving.

"Muggle photos," he realized, as he studied one in particular. It was taken at a party. There was a tall black man, a blonde, a smaller woman, and another young man, with short brown hair.

"That was taken at Carter's birthday party," Jack explained as he came up behind him. "The blonde. The big guy is T Murray, that's Doctor Janet Frasier, and, right next to her is my best friend, Daniel Jackson."

"Daniel Jackson… He was the one Bill Weasley, Ron's oldest brother, was talking about before we left for the Quidditch World Cup. I think he's a fan of this bloke," he told an amused Jack.

"Better not say that with him around. We might never hear the end of it. Never mind that he went on for a month about this book that someone gave him. We finally shut him up when I threatened to do something… _untoward_ to it. After that, whenever I mentioned the word 'aim', he would stop talking about whatever book he was going on about," Jack recounted, somewhat lying about the threatened fate of the book. In reality, Jack had threatened to dump it in the river of the planet they happened to be on, then _accidentally_ use Teal'c's staff weapon on the excuse that it looked like a dangerous animal. Daniel knew Jack probably wasn't joking, so he clammed up and they haven't heard a word about it since.

Harry just shook his head at him and his methods of getting someone the chance to shut up about something. "You wanted me down here, sir?"

"Yeah. I wanted to talk to you about Missy Granger, that friend of yours."

"Why?" Harry didn't think she was in trouble.

"I was talking to some of the others when I overheard Sprout talking to Wright about her overkill on homework," he explained.

"That would be about right for Hermione. She always does things to the extreme, especially homework," Harry confirmed.

"I was afraid of this," Jack sighed, sitting on a desk. "I hate paperwork. Any chance she can tone it down a bit?"

"I don't think so. Teachers never brought it up," Harry told him.

"Well, we'll just have to do something about this, then, won't we? I mean, doesn't she have a life?"

Harry smiled. "I don't know. Usually, she is in the library or helping us in one of our adventures. Always manages to get to all of my games, though, except that once in second year."

Jack was silent for a moment. "You know, she reminds me of Daniel and Carter. It usually takes me and several others two to four hours to get them out of the labs or his office. That does it, I have a new goal in life," he announced.

"Sir?"

"I am going to somehow get Missy a life, while trying the method out on the Science Twins. Don't look at me like that! I _so_ don't need to be around a bunch of walking textbooks this year. Bad enough that I actually have to use one."

"How did you manage to graduate Hogwarts?" Harry laughed.

"I looked on with other people or had them summarize it for me."

Harry laughed harder, with Jack joining in moments later.

* * *

Hermione and Ron waited in the Great Hall for Harry to show up. They had History first and they couldn't wait to find out how the new teacher would be.

Ron finally spotted him walking into the Great Hall walking with Prof. O'Neill.

"Hey, mate," Ron greeted as the pair traveled closer. "Where were you this morning?"

"Oh, Professor O'Neill wanted to talk to me about a few things," he said, sitting down.

Jack took up a position next to Missy. "About how to best get someone to shut up without spilling blood."

"Professor, I don't know where you come up with this stuff-"

"Honest, Hermione!" Harry defended. "He was telling me about how he threatened to do something to his friend's, uh…"

"Glasses," Jack supplied, seeing the problem. His suspicions were confirmed: she would not take threatening books so lightly. "He can't see without them. I told him that if he didn't stop going on about that book, then he would find that his glasses walked off during the night. Worked like a charm."

"Speaking of charms," Hermione took it up, "did you do your homework?"

"Merlin's sake, Mione!" Ron groaned as Jack slipped away, not wanting to have anything to do with the conversation. "You can bug us after dinner tonight. Let me survive today, alright?"

"Fine, fine. You don't have to be so snippy about it," Hermione sniffed as she returned to her breakfast, only to find that her muffin had mysteriously vanished.

Up at the Staff Table, Albus Dumbledore chuckled as he watched Jack O'Neill approach, happily munching on a successfully swiped blueberry muffin.

* * *

History was a few minutes from starting, but the door was open and students were already there, excited to find out what the teacher was like. Of course, as the Hufflepuffs were excited, they were also nervous; about the class and Defense, which they had right after.

Harry and his friends sat in the back, as per usual, and took full advantage of the extra minutes: Hermione was finishing the book she was reading, which reminded Harry of the conversation with Jack about his friend and said friend's book; Ron was in a heated discussion with Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan about (surprise) Quidditch. Harry just sat there, wondering and observing the others.

"Good morning, class," Professor Wright greeted as he walked in the room, closing the door behind him. "I trust everyone slept well last night?"

"**Yes, Professor**," a number of them chorused.

"Very well. Now, I understand that you have gone over goblin wars and little else? Well, we won't have the next generation stay ignorant about the past… Open your books to the beginning. We will begin with Ancient Egyptian wizards, before progressing to Native American magic. Ms. Bones, if you would kindly start reading…"

* * *

Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked down to Hagrid's Hut for class. For some reason, the schedules this year required some classes to be taken the next day, which meant that Care of Magical Creatures for two days in a row, along with Defense, which was to be for next week. Care and Defense, for Fifth year Gryffindors, would alternate weeks in which to be taken for two consecutive days.

The Trio didn't mind so much. Not at that moment. Hermione was gushing about finally learning History and Ron grumbled about the chapter summaries they were set. Harry, though, was silent. There was something about Professor Wright that didn't come up in his mind as it should. He honestly couldn't explain it, but it seemed that something was going on.

Especially, when Professor Wright was anywhere near Jack. When that happened, Harry wanted to draw his wand or something, but it didn't make sense.

"… can't wait until we learn about spirit energy," Harry snapped back to catch the tail end of Hermione's sentence.

"What is that?" Ron questioned.

"Do you know what Spiritwalkers are? They are said to pool something called spirit energy together to do their magic. Of course, I don't know if they would be able to use a wand. Oh, but it would be so exciting to meet one!"

"Hermione," Harry cut in before Ron could say anything. "How can you tell if you've met one?"

She deflated. "Well, there has to be some way for them to identify with each other, right?"

"How would we go about finding it then?" Ron wanted to know, stopping at the base of the path.

"It's actually in plain view," a voice drifted to them.

They turned and found a witch standing behind them, wearing a teal cloak, a white button-up shirt, teal wristbands, and blue jeans.

"Sorry," she said, bouncing up to them. "Didn't mean to scare you. My name is AJ Johnson. The Headmaster said that I could sit in on Hagrid's class. I never attended Hogwarts, you understand, so it's all fascinating."

Hermione nodded, but Harry said, "What's in plain view?"

AJ smiled. "Why the way to identify a Spiritwalker, of course. Well, one of two ways, anyway. Just have to know where to look."

She herded them in the paddock's direction. "See, my friend Danni says that and I guess I just picked up on it. Now, a Council Member is a whole other story. Those who can identify one are usually the most observant."

"You know about the Council?" Hermione asked, surprised.

"You could say that I have connections. Oh, my," she trailed off as she saw what kind of creature Hagrid had. "Are those… what I think they are?"

"Righ', AJ. Thanks fer comin'," Hagrid beamed at her.

"No problem."

The Trio hurried to the rest of their classmates and the Ravenclaws. They were all anxious to know about the kneazle-like little cats.

"AJ, would ya like ta tell'em?" Hagrid offered, then mistook her alarmed look for amazement that he would ask her to do something so great. Or not. You never really knew with Hagrid. "Great! Here."

He picked one up and stuffed it into her arms, getting happier as it rubbed its head on her neck.

"I, uh, Hagrid, I really don't think I'm the right person-"

"Nonsense, go on!" he urged.

Resigned, AJ, cat thing in hand, came closer to the class. "Alright. Uh, class," she gulped nervously. "This is a Calflon. They come in many different colors. You can sort of, uh, tell if it's a girl if you see a, hmm, dark spot on the tail. This particular one is a, huh, male and I think it likes me," she giggled a little hysterically, Harry thought as he studied the Calflon that had decided her shoulder was a better perch.

It- he- was dark brown and was slightly bigger than a tabby cat. It had teal eyes and cat ears. Its black nose twitched as a strand of AJ's hair swept under it.

To no-one's surprise, Hermione had her hand up in the air. "Is it heavy?"

"No. U-usually a pound or two. This one's, mmm, still a kitten," AJ looked to Hagrid for confirmation.

"Righ' yeh are, Doc. This lil fella is only a few weeks old."

"Here, you want to hold him?" AJ turned Hermione, who nodded eagerly. Hermione wasn't quite sure how to hold him, until the older girl told her that it was just like holding an ordinary cat. AJ was a bit taller than she was, but not any taller than Ron, so the transfer was easily made.

"Now, fer the rest of the week, yeh'll be learnin' how to take care of 'em and when they get used to yeh, I'll be handin' the critters into yer capable hands."

A great chattering arose from them, especially from the females. Hermione got AJ's attention and returned the Calflon to her, who immediately settled as soon as he was safe in her arms.

"I guess, AJ'll get a start on it. He's an extra," Hagrid assured her.

Lisa Turpine questioned, "Do they get along with other cats?"

"I should hope so," AJ told her. "I've got two cats of my own. Not to mention, Jay's got Silver…"

The rest of the class involved learning all about Calflons, getting used to them, and trying to prevent AJ from having a heart attack when someone approached her with a question.

When the lesson ended, the Trio hung back, like they always did with Hagrid, and assured him that they would be there for tea on Saturday.

"What are you going to name him?" Hermione asked the darker brunette.

"I was thinking Cocoa. Or Conner. Maybe I'll just name him 'Ian', just to spite him. My friend," she clarified. "I don't know what he has against cats. Gets along with Silver, Magic (I didn't name her, so stop looking at me like that.), Dan's little Donut, and a bunch of others well enough. Hmm, maybe it's because they're around enough… Don't you three have lunch?"

So, the three left Hagrid, AJ, and AJ's neck warmer for the school. If only to keep Hermione from murdering Ron, who was whining for food.

* * *

"Hey, campers," Jack greeted them as they entered the school.

"Hi, Professor," Hermione said, as Harry smiled and Ron said, " 'Campers?'"

"Sorry," Jack shook his head. "Keep forgetting you lot are clueless about the Muggle World. Red, here, at any rate."

As Ron puffed up at the nickname, though highly original, Harry said, "Do you call your friends 'campers', too?"

"One of the many endearments I have for them. Don't mind, do you?"

The Trio shook their heads as they and Jack headed for their usual spot. "So, what's next?"

"I have Arithmancy," Hermione said.

"Free period," Harry supplied for him and Ron.

"Wonderful. So do I. What'll you two be doing?"

"I'm going to practice my Keeper skills," Ron told him, excitedly. "I'm trying out for the position."

"I don't know. I was thinking about writing to some friends," Harry looked at Hermione and Ron, who got the message. He turned back to Jack. "What about you?"

"My boss is coming to visit. Maybe you can meet him before class."

"Your boss? Is he a wizard?" Hermione nosed.

"Nope. Though he has a relative that is one."

"How can he get in, then?" Ron wondered, piling some chips on one side of his plate.

"Albus gave him a pendant that allows him to experience the wonder of our fine school. What? It's perfectly common," Jack told a disbelieving Ron.

Hermione nodded. "I thought that would be the case."

"Well, I'm gonna head over to our esteemed Headmaster to make sure everything is ready. See ya," Jack called over his shoulder.

"Say, mate," Ron turned to Harry. "Who do ya think is new Captain?"

"I don't know, but we better find out soon. Something wrong, Neville?" Harry saw that his fellow Gryff had a puzzled look on his face.

"Haven't seen my cookie, have you? Could've sworn I had it here a minute ago…"

* * *

Draco Malfoy lounged about in the dungeons, sipping his pumpkin juice. To the untrained eye, it would seem that he was relaxing before going up to Defense. To those that knew him, they saw a very nervous blond.

"You know," Pansy Parkinson drawled as she sat next to her friend. "It is very unbecoming of a gentleman to try to stall for time. If we don't hurry now, we might be late for class."

Milli and Blaise, ready to go, stood next to the Slytherin common room entrance. Both were anxious to get going.

Draco sighed and reluctantly got up, setting his goblet on the table to his left. "Alright, let's go, then."

As the quartet left the dungeons, Draco tried to calm his racing heart at the thought of being in the same room as the wizard from Flourish and Blotts. While he was doing that, he noticed Potter and Weasley just up ahead, all but running to get to class.

'That's right,' he thought. 'They were hanging around with him.'

When they got there, Draco took a seat in the back, surrounded by his house mates. Even though there was still a good five minutes left, everyone was there. Professor O'Neill, however, was not.

"Well, well," Draco jumped, along with a few others, at the voice from behind. "I guess I'll need to start class a little early."

Professor O'Neill walked down the aisle toward the front of the room. His brown eyes swept the room, alighting on every one of them, Draco shifted as they landed on him.

"I thought we'd take it easy for a week," the Prof. said, lifting a stack of papers from his desk. "Now, I realize that you had a quiz, for want of a better word, in second year and this will be something like that. But, instead of answering from books, you'll be answering questions about yourself. Things like, for instance, your favorite animal. Favorite color. Things like that. So, pass one back and get started."

When they all got one, Draco looked at the questions on the page in front of him:

_What is your name?_

_How old are you?_

_When is your birthday?_

_What's your favorite color?_

_What do you do in your spare time?_

_What is the name of a favorite book that you have recently read?_

And so on. Breathing a sigh of relief that none of them asked about personal things, Draco took up his quill and went to work.

* * *

AN: I have to stop here. I'm going into 9 pages. I'll finish up next time.

Ended: August 16, 2007

Hyper


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

AN: do you want a sequel? Cause, if not, too bad. Get one whether you like it or not.

Just so you know, Slyths and Gryffs have Defense together.

* * *

Jack honestly didn't know what to make of the blond Slytherin Prince, as he had heard him referred to as. At their previous encounter, Jack had thought that the boy was something to watch out for. Now, he was having second thoughts. Malfoy was bent over focusing on his work, but watching his movements, Jack knew, from the corner of his eye. 

Sighing, Jack looked at his watch, only to do a double-take as he saw how late it was. "Alright, kids," they jumped at the sudden intrusion, making Jack grin. No matter how many times that happened it would never cease to amuse him. "In a few minutes you will be on your merry way and I won't see you til next time. Since you have been working so hard, I've decided to let you have the last minutes til the bell. Have fun."

The students immediately gathered into small groups to plan their next half hour before dinner.

Jack just shook his head and gathered up the papers, knowing he was being watched by the Slytherin.

As the other kids filled the hall, Harry stayed to make sure Jack was going to be at dinner.

"Are you kidding? If I didn't do that, I'd be as skinny as Daniel…" He got this look on his face.

"Professor?" Harry asked, concerned. Harry stepped forward in concern. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he waved him off. "I've got some things to take care of. See you at dinner."

With that, Harry found himself being propelled out the door and into the crowd. Hermione and Ron waited outside the classroom for him as they always did and will always do.

"Well?" Hermione began. "Is he going to be eating with us?"

"I think so. He said that he had things to take care of."

"Let's go up to the Tower," Ron suggested. "I have to drop this bag off."

The other two agreed and headed that way. Harry looked over at all the paintings as they went. He never got tired of seeing the paintings move and talk.

"You know," a dreamy voice said from beside him, "there's a painting near the North Tower that doesn't talk."

Harry looked over and saw a blonde girl with blue eyes and a dreamy expression on her face. Her robes said that she was a Ravenclaw and she looked around Ginny's age.

"Don't be silly," Hermione sniffed at her. "All the human portraits talk."

Surprisingly, both Neville and Ron lit up.

"Not all of them, Hermione," Neville disagreed.

"Yeah," Ron nodded as the Gryffindors and the Ravenclaws split and the blonde was swallowed up by her Housemates. "Everyone in my family, cept for Ginny of course, says that there really is a portrait that doesn't talk. No one knows why, though. I've always wanted to see her."

Neville puffed up as they entered the Tower. "I have. She's really pretty. She's got long white hair the color of the stars and she has teal eyes, as well. She looks sad, though. It's a long running thing at school to see if anyone can make her laugh. She can smile, though. It's usually a sad kind of smile."

Hermione looked a bit intrigued and went up to see if her copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ said anything about it. Ron went up with Dean and Seamus, arguing about Quidditch. Harry decided to write that letter to Sirius, but paused as he noticed Neville's face.

"Something wrong, Nev?"

"You know, now that I think of it, I could swear that I've seen her somewhere else before. Just can't think where…"

Harry watched him go up and sat down at a nearby table, pulling a blank sheet of parchment from his bag.

"'_Dear Snuffles,_

_Have you heard about Jack? He's a good teacher so far. _

_Is it true that there is a painting that doesn't talk? Have you or the others come across her? You are the Marauders, after all._

_So, how's Moony doing? I hope he's doing alright. The full moon is a few days from now._

_That's it for now,_

_Harry Potter_

Harry rolled it up and stood. There was enough time to get to the Owlery and back without anyone missing him.

On his way up to find Hedwig, he ran into the most unexpected person.

"AJ? What are you doing here?" Harry stopped in surprise.

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot your name," AJ rubbed the back of her neck shyly.

"Harry."

"That's right. Don't worry, I almost never remember names the first time, famous or not."

"I don't remember-"

"Oh, that's alright. Your profile gives you away. I do occasionally read the _Prophet_ after all. Is that your owl?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah," he blinked, not remembering the trip up to the Owlery. Hedwig was blinking at him, wondering if he wanted to have her deliver a letter or not. "Sorry, girl. Here. Take this to Pro- Moony. He'll pass it on."

Hedwig, letter safely tied on her leg, took flight out of the window into the dusk.

"AJ," Harry turned to see her straightening up. "Ready to go back down?"

She just grabbed his arm and nearly dragged him down the way back.

"Ok, ok, I get it. You don't like heights."

"Long story. Hey, can you get back on your own?"

"I better. After four years and all…"

"Sorry. I gotta run," AJ shrugged as they came to a stop outside of the Hall. "Dinner should be soon."

"Yeah, I have to go, too. See you," he said as he started off down the hallway.

If he had looked back, he would have seen AJ's eyes go from calculating to confused.

* * *

Harry burst into the Tower just as Ron and Hermione were about to leave without him. 

"Where were you?" Hermione wanted to know.

"I went up to send the letter…" Harry related his encounter with AJ.

"Wow, seems to be everywhere, doesn't she?" Ron said. "Can we go now?"

"Fine, we'll talk on the way then," Hermione rolled her eyes as they stepped out of the common room.

* * *

Jack sat at the Staff table, watching the Trio as they wandered in, heads together. 

"I wonder what they're up to," Jack said to himself. As he watched, the Trio sat in their usual spots, still talking.

The empty spaces around them filled up and soon, the Hall was as noisy as ever. Albus stood up and the Hall quieted.

"Before we begin our meal, I would like to inform you that, until next week, the library is closed."

Several protests were sounded coming from, predictably, the Ravenclaws and, Jack grinned, Missy from her spot.

"The reason for this," Albus continued, "is that new wards need to be added to the existing ones and it will take time. For homework purposes, the books that will be required shall be in the classrooms for use. Also, I believe, Professor O'Neill would like his classes to keep a good supply of parchment handy for tomorrow. Now, enjoy."

The food appeared and Missy, Jack noted with amusement, was sulking, earlier conversation evidently forgotten. As the night wore on, Jack kept himself entertained by the thought of the work ahead.

'Hmm,' he thought. 'I wonder when they'll start to suspect something is amiss. 'New wards', indeed…'

* * *

AN: I will try to update as much as I can, but the chapters may be a bit short. I've got a busy week or so ahead of me. Only five more reviews or so until we hit 100. I promise to update if and when we hit our goal. 

And for my sanity, we will be going with five years since 9/11 next chapter.

October 12, 2007


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

The rest of the week passed beautifully for Hogwarts as they settled in.

It passed somewhat busier, however, to those under Cheyenne Mountain.

* * *

Daniel Jackson sighed as he surveyed his office, which was trying to pass itself off as the aftermath of an F-5 tornado. He had a busy few days, what with all the translations he had to do.

He dug around looking for the journal, grinning triumphantly as he found it hiding under a Japanese book that he could've sworn Jack was reading.

"Hey, Daniel," Sam skidded around the corner. "Listen, can you pick up a few things for me? I have to finish this experiment before I leave."

"Sure. Still having that sleepover with Janet and Cassie?"

"Yeah. Here's the list of everything that needs to be picked up."

"Alright." Daniel took it from her and watched as she disappeared again.

He took the journal, not half way finished, and the list with him as he went to the locker rooms. "Hey, Lou," he greeted as he passed the airman.

"'Ey, Doc. Where're you going?"

"Sam needs some stuff picked up."

"Sure. It's good you're helping," Lou tugged his jacket on. "Well, I gotta go. See ya."

Daniel waved as he set the two things down. After he got dressed, he went topside.

* * *

Daniel meandered down the aisle looking for snacks. It was only seven o'clock at night, but it seemed that the store was deserted. Except for the brother and sister at the end, arguing about what the difference was between dark chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Daniel pushed the cart, coming to a stop near them to pick up some chocolate. And we all know that Daniel's addiction to chocolate kicks up when he even _thinks_ about it, so he went ahead and took a little bit of everything. 'Some for me and some for Sam,' he thought as he scooped up a bag or three each of the subjects of the sibling argument.

"Wow," Daniel looked up to see both looking at him wide-eyed. "That's about as much as AJ eats in a week."

"You're telling me," the brother agreed. "I'm Dan Anderson."

"I'm Danni Anderson."

"You're joking. I'm Daniel _Jack_son."

"Oh," Danni nodded. "Sorta-"

"- creepy," Dan finished.

Daniel nodded in agreement.

"Hold up. _The _Daniel Jackson?" Danni's brown eyes went wide again.

"Uh, yes?"

"Seriously?" Dan grinned. "We read your work. Our friends and family love it."

"Really?" Daniel's head tilted to the side. "I didn't think anyone liked it but a few people."

Dan and Danni nodded in unison.

"You could say we're your biggest fans," Dan grinned, pulling at the light purple wristband with his left hand.

"Well, we have to hit the trail," Danni looked disappointed as she said this. "I hope we meet up again real soon."

"Yeah, it was nice meeting you," Daniel shook their hands and went back to his shopping. Though, it was a shame that he didn't turn back or he would've seen them trade wide-eyed looks.

* * *

He had a splitting headache and that blasted pounding wasn't doing him any good.

"Jonathon? Open this door please; I have to talk to you."

"Go away, Albus. My head is killing me."

"And whose fault is that, working late," Albus tsked as he spelled the door open and saw Jack with his head buried in his hands.

"I don't think me putting in overtime on those wards did it," Jack painfully lifted his head. "I should get up to the infirmary, shouldn't I?"

Albus took his ex-student's face in his hands and nodded. "If it pains you that much..."

"I'll go on up. What did you want, Professor?"

"I wanted to tell you that the wards are doing well. Tomorrow we will know if it is indeed working to your satisfaction."

"Great. See you."

Albus looked after him with concern. 'If Jonathon admits to having a headache, let alone dropping his front, then it must be painful.'

* * *

Harry wandered the halls, having nothing to do, except think of who the new captain of the House Quidditch Team was, on Friday night. 'The first week has ended and I can't help but wonder what the rest of the year will bring.'

Suddenly, he found himself in the Hospital Wing with no knowledge of his trip there. "Hey, are you a mind reader or something?"

Jack, hand on his head, walked slowly toward him. "I was just wondering what you were up to. Give me a hand would you?"

"Are you alright?" Harry hurried up to him and helped him to sit on one of the beds.

"Just a headache, you don't need to spread the news around. Though, I suspect that the portraits are _miles_ ahead of you..."

"Do you need anything?"

Jack gave him a weak grin. "Some of Doc Frasier's happy juice would be welcome right about now... Is Pomfrey around?"

"I'll go look," Harry went to her office. "No. She must have went to bed."

Jack glanced at him. "You look surprised."

"I thought she slept up here..."

"You have obviously not met Janet Frasier. I swear she sleeps in her office. Help me up and I'll find it."

Minutes later, Jack strode out of the Wing, arm around Harry's shoulders, recounting a tale that his lunch companion had told him to share, that would be the one after the story about the trap door that wasn't supposed to have been there.

As they neared Gryffindor Tower, Jack's arm dropped back to his side. "Sleep well, kiddo."

"I don't know if I'd call it sweet, though."

"Why not?"

Harry paused. "Never mind. I probably need to visit the lake or something. You wouldn't believe it... Night, Jack."

As the elder wizard turned, he could've sworn that he heard Harry mutter something about "bloody vertical water won't leave me alone..." Jack wasn't sure that he wanted to know.

* * *

Elsewhere, Sirius Black dodged several flying objects even before he entered Remus Lupin's bedroom.

"Hey, Moony," he said as he paused in the doorway. The room was a mess. Clothes, books, papers ('since when did he get a rubber duck?') were scattered everywhere. "Looking for something?" Sirius dodged a flying book on _Different Herbs and Where to Find Them_ aimed at his head.

"I could swear they were here," Remus muttered to himself as he continued searching.

"Well, I'm going to scout around outside," Sirius said as he looked out of the cottage. The woods were sure to disguise him if he decided to go out.

"Fine, just don't go too far," the other waved a hand in his general direction as the rest of him, bound and determined, continued on his search.

Sirius just shook his head. The werewolf had just about literally torn the place up looking for this set of books that he had discovered in second year in the library. The last time Sirius had seen these mysterious books had been right before _that_ Halloween. He could still remember Lily's thoughtful look as she rifled through the four books that had Remus convinced that there were more. Multiple searches turned nothing up, yet none of the Marauders had given up trying to find the owner(s) of the books.

'I wonder if we'll ever find the author...' Sirius thought as he left to run around outside. 'At least Harry's found something to think about. I haven't thought of the Lady for awhile now.'

* * *

AN: Sorry, I rushed. I wanted to get this out before Thanksgiving. It's late, but I hope everyone had a particularly frightening Halloween and I know that I've said that before.

Anyway, 9-11 should be up next chapter. Hopefully, it won't take so long next time.

Has anyone seen _The Cat Returns_, by chance?

98 reviews, guys, just two more and I'll give you two chapters... Though it may take awhile.

Hyper

11-17-07


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Harry Potter stumbled out of bed Saturday morning well before his dorm mates. He sleepily got dressed and almost fell down the stairs.

"Rough night?"

He nearly jumped through the roof when Jack piped up from an armchair near the fire.

"Do you make it a habit of trying to sneak up on people?!" Harry realized who he was yelling at and sheepishly apologized, which Jack waved away as he stood.

"As a matter of fact, contrary to popular belief, I _don't _make it a habit; most people just seem to think it is. Some on the other hand..." Jack smirked as he thought of Teal'c and Selmac/ Jacob Carter, who always seemed to know where he was. In fact, he was starting to think he should add AJ to the list. The other day, he somehow took a wrong turn, when out of the blue, she appeared, as surprised to see him as he was of her. She strongly denied knowledge of his whereabouts, but he didn't buy it. "So, Missy up there?"

"I think so. I wouldn't try to go up the stairs, though. I don't think we're allowed to." He eyed the stairs dubiously.

"Well, I know one way we can get her down," Jack winked at him before going over and yelling up, "Hey, Missy Granger! I need to talk to you about the homework!"

"But we didn't have homework," Harry said.

"I know that," Jack shrugged as Hermione stumbled downstairs.

"_We had homework?!"_ she screeched, panicked.

"No, I just wanted to see if you were up there," Jack grinned at the incensed look on her face. "Actually, though, your mom sent you a letter that somehow got into my hands."

The murderous look on her face melted to curiosity as the letter was handed to her. "Oh, and just as a heads up," Jack added, "I might need to deliver mail to you guys. For some reason, I end up getting other people's mail."

"Pro...er, Jack, did I get a letter?" Harry wanted to know, a hint of panic in his heart as he remembered a letter from Sirius was supposed to be arriving any day now.

"Actually, I do recall...," Jack fished around in his pocket for it. "Here it is."

Harry reached for the letter, but Jack held it above his reach. Hermione watched the interaction with wide eyes as he displayed, to her, un-professor-like behavior.

"C'mon, what's the magic word?" Jack teased.

Harry paused to think about it. 'There are a lot of magic words. Which one does he want?'

Jack just stared at him blankly. "I didn't mean _literally_! Good Merlin, I can't even make that joke anymore. You're all pathetic. Here. Say 'please'," he prompted.

"Please," Harry echoed, grateful when he had the letter safely in hand. He opened it as Jack left, shaking his head, muttering something about his friends following him everywhere in spirit.

"What does it say?" Hermione asked.

'_Dear Harry,_

_I'm glad you wrote. Remus is looking for this set of books he found one year and he's tearing the place up looking for them. _

_About the Lady, I have to say, the most we were able to get out of her was a happy sigh when James and Remus had that impromptu prank war in her hall. I've been meaning to visit her, though you can't really tell what she looks like. You'll understand what I mean when you actually see her. Not a lot is known about her. She's been in the castle for as long as anyone can remember, though some of the ghosts and other paintings say that the artist painted her portrait. I think she was a real person, but I can't be sure._

_Me and the other Marauders think that the Headmaster is the only one who knows what her deal is. He is constantly amused at our theories. It wouldn't surprise me a bit, either._

_So, what are you lot up to? Get in trouble yet? How are the new professors doing? How many detentions have you had this year?_

_Give Ron and Hermione my best and stay alert,_

_Snuffles.'_

"That doesn't help much, does it?" Hermione mused as students started coming down. They told Ron about what happened as they went down to breakfast.

"Doesn't get boring 'round that bloke," Ron shook his head as he sat down. "I'll give 'im that."

* * *

"So, you're following me to breakfast, now?" Jack amusedly asked a blushing AJ as she sidled up next to him at the Staff table.

"I'm not following you," AJ shrugged. "The headmaster wanted to see me about my employer."

"Yes, what _do_ you do when you're not stalking people?"

"I'm not stalking anyone," she rolled her eyes as she stole a piece of bacon off his plate, much to Albus's amusement.

"I was going to eat that, you know," Jack told her.

"And it was just sitting there, because...?"

"You never answered the question," Jack said.

AJ looked innocent. "What question?"

Jack was about to say something else when the mail arrived.

To Jack's annoyance, no less than five owls flew his way and landed in front of him. "Tell me, then, AJ," he said, "how is it that I can't get past one morning without getting someone else's mail?"

AJ just looked thoughtful as she studied one owl in particular. "That one looks familiar," she muttered to herself, Jack unintentionally hearing.

"What? This one?" He pointed to a light brown/ beige sort of colored owl with black eyes, which was looking sort of pitifully at AJ.

"Ah, L- Lira!" AJ let the owl onto her arm, who hooted at her. "I was wondering why you looked familiar. Uh, excuse me, I have to take this message."

AJ hurried out as fast as she could with an owl on her arm, past the Trio, who waved absently, and past Hagrid, who grinned a good morning at her.

* * *

"I wonder what her hurry is," Ron said to the other two as they watched AJ rush out with the owl.

Jack came up to them. "Missy, would you do me a favor and find me a book?"

* * *

That night, AJ was, for once, not seen on the grounds and Jack was fairly concerned.

"I hope everything's alright," he said to Albus, who just smiled.

"I am sure things are fine," he assured.

Jack shrugged and got up as he saw Missy head toward her friends.

"Missy, did you find that book?"

Hermione shook her head dolefully. "I had to help one of the first years with her potions homework. Sorry, professor."

"Ah, that's fine," Jack shook his head. "I'll look for it."

Ron said, "Yeah, Mione. You aren't the only one who goes to the library."

Before she could say anything else, Ginny came over to ask her something about muggles and forgot to reprimand Ron. Jack slinked off as Harry grinned at his relieved best friend, who grinned back.

The grin was wiped off Ron's face, however, when he looked at his plate.

"Oi! Where'd my sausage go?"

* * *

AN: Sorry about the wait. I got 114 reviews! I'm so excited.

Four more for the next chapter, which may be a bit rushed. You know the whole '9-11' thing I told you about? I think it'll be a missing scene because I need to get to Halloween. Sorry, Hogsmeade is coming up. Soon, hopefully. We'll see how it goes.

Don't complain about giving me four reviews. I said I'd give you two chapters, but I'd like to have at least three per chapter...

Happy late Valentine 's Day and happy New Year.

Gomen nasai

_Hyper_

_2-21-08_

PS: I got a laptop!!!

I'm going to try to update on that, cause I already started this chapter on this computer.

Ja ne.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

AN: You know, one of my reviewers said that we don't see enough of the rest of SG-1 and when I thought about it, I agreed. So, Pandor4, this one's for you.

* * *

Jack sighed as he slumped on a blue beanbag in his quarters. Rubbing his face with his hands, he contemplated all the possible explanations to why he decided to take this job.

Certainly wasn't for the money. It couldn't have been because he wanted to get away from the SGC…

"Now, not only do I have requisitions to sign," he groused, "but I have papers to grade."

He looked at the papers in front of him and sighed. "Though, it'd be a little bearable if _I_ assigned these things. This is the last time I'm helping Flitwick…"

He picked his head up and gave the door his iciest glare as someone knocked on it.

"Enter."

The door opened and Jack straightened as General Hammond and Albus walked in, closing the door behind them.

"Sir? What's going on?"

"Well, son," Hammond said, indicating that he should stay seated. "We need you back on base. There's been an incident."

Suddenly, all the worry he had been feeling for AJ the past few hours dissipated as he was faced with another fear. "SG-1, sir?"

"No, no, nothing like that," Albus hastened to assure.

"Albus is right," the General nodded, inwardly smiling as Jack visibly sagged with relief. "One of the off world teams missed two check-ins and we need SG-1 to see what the problem is."

"Which one?"

"SG-25."

Jack nodded, gut twisting. The leader was just recently assigned to the Mountain and had just started the week before. It was the captain's first mission.

"Now, sir?" Jack was already in motion. He gathered the homework papers together and left them out in plain view for Flitwick when he would later arrive to check his progress. Scrawling a quick note, Jack heard Hammond say, "Preferably, Colonel."

A few minutes later, the trio of adults fairly ran down the hall, barely missing a walking pile of books, known as Missy Granger, and nearly bowling over poor Harry and Ron as they came in from flying.

"Bloody hell," Ron stared after them with wide eyes. "What was _that _about?"

Harry shrugged as he stared after them. "Dunno. I hope everything's alright."

* * *

Daniel was in his office, staring thoughtfully at the journal. He was almost at Halloween and he was still no closer to figuring out this other author.

In fact, the more Daniel read, the more he started to think that this was not your everyday fantasy book. For one, it was a little too detailed about the events being described. For another, he was _fairly _certain that Jack didn't know enough Latin to make up words like this. Of course, that didn't explain how he was reading a book in Japanese, of all things, so the odds of Jack knowing more than one language wasn't entirely out of this world.

Daniel was broken out of his thoughts as Sam entered his office with a concerned look on her face.

"Sam, everything alright?" Daniel went to get her a cup of coffee.

"How's the journal coming along?" Sam avoided the question.

"Well, I don't think it's a novel anymore."

"What do you mean?" Sam sipped the coffee Daniel gave her.

"See, I noticed," Daniel was in his element, "that everything described in the journal was too detailed to be imagination and there are Latin words used throughout the book indicating the incantations for the spells used."

"Can't say I'm surprised," Sam said, looking at the page Daniel indicated.

"Why do you say that?" Daniel questioned.

"Well, the other day," Sam recounted, "before the colonel left, I was in the Cafeteria eating some blue Jell-O (don't give me that look) when I overheard some of the personnel talking about this book that they'd recently read."

"So?"

"The colonel passed them and he said, 'Yeah, I read that book, too. I just hated the ending. Why did that one have to die? I loved that character. And I really expected him to live out until the end of the series. (1)'"

"And what would that have to do with anything?" Daniel drained his coffee. "Jack reading is not unheard of, but not all that common, either."

"Daniel, I checked. The entire book was in _German_."

That one threw Daniel. _"German_?! I thought I saw him reading a Japanese book. You think there's a chance that he knows Latin?"

"Who knows Latin?"

The science twins jumped a mile high as Jack strode in.

"Sir!" Sam stuttered. "When did you get in?"

"Not 30 minutes ago," Jack waved off. "Now, what conversation was I interrupting?"

Sam and Daniel looked at each other, at a loss of what to say. Thankfully, Hammond and Teal'c arrived in time to save them a lie.

"SG-1," Hammond said, "as much as I would like to take this to my office, there was an incident some time ago (Sam blushed ruefully, while Daniel hid a grin and Jack looked on in puzzlement) that puts it out of question. Now, as you've all been notified of, you are all going to the last destination of SG-25 and you'll be taking SG units 2, 5, and 8 as back-up."

Jack nodded. If things went pear shaped, as much as he trusted his team with his life, he'd want no-one other than Lou there with him.

Sam had managed to hide the journal under a bunch of miscellaneous papers without being noticed, except by Teal'c, of course.

"Get ready," Hammond ordered. "You leave in fifteen minutes."

BBBBBB

As the Stargate shut down behind them twenty minutes later, the four teams had spread out and established a perimeter, making Jack proud that his kids meshed along with the others.

"Alright," he called their attention when it was proven that they were alright for the time being. "SG-2 and 8 will be taking point. After them, 5 and Teal'c will bring up the rear."

Everyone automatically did as told and Jack felt good to be in his element. As they walked along the trail heading toward the camp SG-25 set up, Jack couldn't help not feeling guilty for not being at Hogwarts. 'It feels good to be out here again,' he fondly watched Carter and Daniel get together with Hodge of SG-8, Carson and Gibs of 5, and Nells of 2.

After a few twenty minute breaks, and quite a few miles, they all found the clearing that the camp had been set in.

"We should split up," Lou told him, the others gazing at their surroundings with equal parts caution and curiosity.

"You read my mind," Jack nodded and went off in one direction, leaving Lou to assign orders.

As Sam and Daniel met up a few minutes later, both finding nothing, clouds began to gather above them. Too bad neither noticed.

"I was thinking," Daniel said to Sam as they meandered around, waiting for the others to reassemble. "Maybe Jack wants to be underestimated. He does have enemies, after all."

Sam nodded. "I still think the journal's a fantasy book of some kind."

"Maybe," Daniel said reluctantly. "But, you know, there are cultures that believe magic exists in the mortal world-"

"I know that," Sam cut him off, blue eyes still on alert for danger. "Daniel, remember. I'm a scientist. I can't just read a journal, no matter how detailed it is, and automatically assume that magic exists. I need proof and nothing but that can change my mind."

Daniel nodded. 'Besides,' he wondered, 'if Jack isn't playing and this, by some stretch, is real, then why wouldn't he just tell us?'

"Alright, everyone," Lou's voice brought Daniel back from images of dragons (if only he knew), spells, and wands. "Did anyone find anything?"

"No, sir," Captain Reynolds of SG-8 reported. "It's like they up and left, sir."

Daniel nodded. "Everything's as they left it," he added. "Maybe they were coming back?"

Carson shook his head. "Strangest thing. Not a soul around."

"Maybe we should wait to continue," Nells suggested as she looked at the clouds. The planet was notorious for unexpected storms. Mostly of the severe storm category.

"Where's Jack?" Daniel noticed that his friend wasn't there. "Jack?" Suddenly, Lou's radio crackled to life.

"_Lou, you guys might want to come on over here,"_ Jack's voice was a cross between amused and exasperated. _"I found SG-25."_

* * *

When the others finally found Jack, he was shaking his head while looking down on what first appeared to be a sinkhole. As the group got closer, they realized that it _was_ a sinkhole. Staring up at them from inside was the missing team. All were present and accounted for, though dirty and a little worse for wear.

"Do we want to know what happened?" Lou asked Jack when they got close enough.

"Apparently," Jack still sounded amused, "one of them accidentally slipped into it and called out for the others. Coincidentally, the radio signals can't penetrate this sort of rock, so that's why they weren't able to contact anyone."

"It seems like limestone," Gibs commented, crouching down so she could study it better.

"But it's not actually limestone," Sam countered as she crouched down beside the other blonde.

"Before we go do some rock studies," Jack and Lou exchanged amused looks, "we have to fish this lot out of here first."

"Yes, sir," Sam nodded, getting some rope out from her backpack. All four SG-1 members had taken to bringing some on all off-world missions after a somewhat hilarious situation in their early years. To this day, no-one was sure of the exact incident, but all they got was that the situation involved a cliff, the local version of super glue, a wooden footbridge, and something called a Chet, something like a Calflon, Jack had thought when he first encountered it.

A good half hour later, all members of the missing team were herded back to camp just as the rain started to fall.

* * *

"… _I think we'll be awhile, General,"_ Jack's voice announced an hour later, thunder in the background.

"Take your time, Colonel," Hammond chuckled, glad that everyone was safe and in one piece, albeit tired, a little upset, and dirty. "Check back in one hour intervals."

"_Will do, sir. O'Neill out."_

As the wormhole disengaged, Hammond once again chuckled at the whole thing. He shook his head and went back to his office.

"General?"

He looked up to see the just recently assigned priest, Timothy Anderson, lurking in his doorway.

"Ah, Father," he gestured to him to enter.

"Sir, with all due respect, I'd like some time off to see my two cousins," Father Timothy fidgeted. "Uh, and it's Tim or Father Tim, uh, sir. Or, if you're like Luna, 'Dad'," he mused dryly.

George, having taken to him at first meet, nodded. "Granted."

"Thank you, sir," Father Tim brightened, his fingers leaving his violet wristbands. "I'll be back before midnight at the latest."

"Take your time," George nodded and went back to work.

* * *

Jack walked through the gate with the others following, and a wave following them.

"Sir," Jack wrung his hat out, "if I ever have to go out in a storm, I'd prefer not having to hike back home."

"I'll keep that in mind," George chuckled. "Welcome home, safe and sound."

(1) Guess which book it is. I dare you. It's either 5 or 6. Seven doesn't count.

Sorry for the delay guys. After a string of events, not the least of which is my still healing ankle, I near forgot about this story.

I think the next chapter will be shorter, but not to worry. I think I feel a prank coming up. Just let me think of one. Any ideas? I think I would like a part for glitter, if that's alright. Anyway, I have this stellar idea for a Halloween prank.

Now, all we have to do is actually get to Halloween. But we'll get there in two chapters or so.

Again, sorry for the delay.

Always keep your attention on the uneven sidewalk and try not to stare at the lighthouses.

Hyper

June 3, 2008


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Sunday passed peacefully (for the students; Jack having been called on the mission), as did most of Monday. AJ didn't show up and that made Jack worry about his new, young friend.

Poor Albus had a time of trying to alleviate Jack's worries, but, interestingly enough, Daniel seemed to catch on to his best friend's mood, even without knowing the whole story, and strove to make him feel better.

In fact, Daniel may have been the reason that three chocolate bars had mysteriously appeared on his keyboard…

In either case, by the time lunch on Monday rolled around, AJ had finally shown up a bit worse for wear.

"Everything alright?" Jack questioned as he munched on his sandwich, glad that she was unharmed.

"I suppose," she sighed as she poured herself some pumpkin juice. "One of my friends broke up with this girl he'd been seeing for awhile and I had to make sure Ian didn't commit suicide by car crash." She shook her head, "Ian's driving is a rollercoaster ride on a good day and I seem to be the only one who can stand it on a bad."

"Well, as long as you're still around," Jack grinned at the put upon look on her face.

"Don't be too sure," she told him, appropriating a handful of chips for herself. "Last time Ian broke up with someone, I ended up in the Emergency Room with a concussion, a broken rib, and don't get me started on particulars…"

Jack winced. "Interesting friends you have," he commented, inwardly grinning at the reference to himself as well.

"Believe me," she smiled vaguely. "You have _no_ idea."

***

Tuesday started out on a gloomy note.

For some reason, all the students didn't feel cheery or happy at all.

"What gives?" Ron complained as he scanned the somber Hall. "No one's happy today."

Harry scratched the back of his neck as he looked at all the sad faces as well. "I wonder why."

Hermione gazed thoughtfully at the plate in front of her and her brown eyes lit up. "I think one of the teachers might be feeling this way. The castle is making everyone sad."

"It can do that?" Ron was impressed, even though he, as well as others, should have known that it _was_ magic, after all.

"Well, it's rare, but not unheard of."

Harry sipped on his pumpkin juice as Hermione continued, "It says so in _Hogwarts, A History._ ("Figures," Ron muttered to an amused Ginny, who had tuned in.) When the Founders made the charms that surrounded the castle, they accidentally put another spell that enabled the school to tie into the feelings and emotions of certain individuals. No one's really had this happen for a long time," Hermione concluded thoughtfully. "I wonder what made it change."

Just then, Professor Wright appeared at Neville's elbow, causing the startled Gryffindor to spill his juice all over the table. Instantly fixing it with his wand after apologizing, Wright said, "Has anyone seen Professor O'Neill today? I need to go over some details with him about some defense history."

After a chorus of negative responses, Wright nodded and went off to ask another group.

Harry stared after him, uncertain of this ominous feeling that he suddenly felt. "I don't much like him," he admitted to the others.

"Don't blame you there, mate," Ron nodded before heaping a bunch of apple slices on his plate. One of the things that Harry had come to discover in the years that he'd known the redhead was Ron's love for apples. The result, Harry supposed, of living near an orchard his whole life.

"Yes, I can tell," Hermione daintily poured a glob of maple syrup on her pancakes. "I've noticed you glaring at him sometimes."

"I do?" Harry was surprised. This was news to him.

"Sure," Neville piped up from beside him. "Thought for sure you were going to do him in."

They talked a few more minutes before heading off to class. While ignoring Malfoy and his group, Harry caught sight of Jack talking to Albus, a dejected air about him.

'I wonder if everything's alright,' he thought, getting swept out with the others. He bumped into an equally dejected AJ, who looked like she'd been crying.

"AJ?" Harry herded her into a corner, out of the way. "Is everything alright?"

"As well as it can be, I guess," she sniffed and wiped her eyes with her left hand, glasses dangling from the right. "Personal stuff."

"If you're sure…" AJ nodded. "Alright, then. See you later?"

"I'm sure," AJ smiled weakly at him.

"Oh," Harry said before he left. "Does Jack know about your 'personal stuff'?"

"What do you mean?" she wondered.

"He's not happy, either. Just thought you knew," Harry shrugged as Hermione came back and dragged him off, but not before giving the distressed older witch an encouraging hug.

AJ watched the pair as they left. "That's a friend for you," she said to the Grey Lady as she floated past. "Always wanting to know if they can help you feel better. Even if they don't know the story."

The Grey Lady acknowledged her with a smile and left her alone as the main hallway slowly emptied.

AJ rubbed her temples tiredly. 'Yup,' she thought as she headed back to the Broomsticks. 'A good friend.' Her gaze turned thoughtful. "I wonder if Jack has any friends like that," she wondered aloud. She paused. "He must have. I can't see anyone like that _not_ having that kind of friend. Although," she mused, "he does remind me of another friend of mine. If only I could figure out how…"

***

After Defense, the Trio was sufficiently worried about Jack. The Headmaster ended up covering the lesson, which wasn't all that much to worry about.

It was actually a word search with the types of creatures and things that they had learned about from the past four years. Hermione thought it was great fun, unknowingly sharing that same view with Draco Malfoy.

The blonde Slytherin didn't care much about it at first, but managed to get into the adrenaline rush of trying to find a word before one of his other housemates, who decided to make it a sort of in-house competition.

Ron didn't know what to make of it and Harry enjoyed the blank state of mind with nothing but finding a certain word to fill it.

In the time they had for lunch, Hermione, as was custom, ventured into the library, while the remaining members of the Quidditch team gathered to decide when to hold the tryouts for the open positions.

Expecting her until bedtime, Harry and Ron were surprised when Hermione showed up just in time for dinner, saying that she was starving and that the rest of her assignment could keep until tomorrow.

Ron raised an eyebrow before shrugging. "If you say so."

At dinner, Harry was glad to see Jack a little happier and roaming between tables with a cup of what smelled and looked like hot chocolate in his hands.

Stopping next to him, Jack greeted them with, "Good day, campers. What're you lot up to?"

"Nothing of interest," Harry told him.

"It must be something of interest," Jack shrugged. He brightened. "Hogsmeade weekend is coming up soon."

"Oh, yeah," Ron nodded.

"Are you going, Professor?" Hermione wanted to know, hair in a plait.

"Only if you start calling me 'Jack', Missy," he countered. "I get enough of that at home. One of these days," he announced, "I'm going to make Carter stop calling me 'sir'."

"Good for you, Professor," the blonde Ravenclaw dreamily told him as she passed. Harry recognized her from when he first heard about the Lady.

"Hey, er, Jack," he remembered, "have you ever heard of the Lady?"

Jack was thoughtful as the Trio looked on with interest. "Now that you mention it… A good friend of mine has seen her quite a few times. Though, Ricky says that you can't really tell what she looks like. I've never seen her, but I've heard plenty of stories. Stop by sometime and I'll tell you a few of them."

***

AN: I am so sorry about the delay. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do something else with this chapter or not.

I tried putting a prank in here, but I think that might have to wait. At least until the Quidditch tryouts. (grin)

Hyper

December 5, 2008


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Three days later, Jack ambled down the hall and turned the corner, only to pause as he saw AJ Johnson attempting to set the wall on fire with the darkest glare he'd ever seen on anyone's face outside a Goa'uld mother ship and _that_ was certainly saying something.

Shuddering at the thought, he quipped, "Boy, am I glad you're on our side."

Not getting a response, he tried again. "Any pesky, annoying Tauri foil recent plans of solar domination?"

"Huh?" She turned to him, confusion replacing the glare, much to Jack's relief.

"Er, never mind. What'd the wall do to you?" He lounged against the aforementioned wall in front of her.

"It's keeping secrets," she glared at it again.

"Sorry?" Jack didn't know what to make of that.

She sighed. "I was talking with some of the portraits and they said that there used to be a passage around here, but I can't find out where it is or how to get in."

"But you just know that it's around here somewhere?" Jack clarified.

AJ nodded. "It's driving me down the pier and off the dock."

"What pier?"

"My friend Tati Creona says that sometimes," she rubbed the back of her neck shyly.

"I'll have to remember that," Jack nodded, stepping away from the wall just enough to study it.

"Trust me," she studied the wall again. "I have actual experience driving off the dock and not all of them werewas my fault."

"Care to explain that?" Jack quirked an eyebrow at her.

AJ grinned. "You have to get me drunk first. And anyway, it'd probably be easier if you did. I have to get one of my other friends over here, because it's always more amusing if he was here, too."

"How easy is it to get you drunk?" Jack let the other subject go, no matter how curious he was.

"I never thought about it, really," she mused. "Ian could probably tell you."

"The one that broke up with his girlfriend?" Jack remembered.

"Can we not talk about that? Just be happy that I didn't end up in the ER again."

The two stared at the wall in front of them for a few minutes.

"Well?" AJ turned to poke Jack on the shoulder.

"I got nothin'," he shook his head. "C'mon, AJ. Let's go down to breakfast. Hey, do you know when the tryouts are going to be for the Gryffindor team?"

***

Harry shook his head as he shoveled some porridge into his mouth. He knew Hermione meant well, but she could at least let them eat a few minutes before heckling them about being late for a class they were pretty much excelling in.

He choked as a hand landed on his shoulder and a voice sounded in his ear, "We meet again, huh?"

As he was trying to calm down, he heard another voice further out call, "Really, Luna! You didn't have to give the poor boy a heart attack!"

Ron patted his mate's shoulder as Hermione, Neville, and a newly arrived Ginny looked on.

Harry's coughing fit ended and he turned to see apologetic blue eyes peering into his green.

"Hey," he wheezed. "I remember you. From the Knight Bus."

It was the witch with the twin who seemed to like knitting and who, again, wore her hair up in one ponytail.

"Yup!" Luna nodded with glee. "My name is Luna, but you already know that. My last name is McCleary. Luna Oriel McCleary."

"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron introduced himself as Luna looked at him.

When she got the names of the nearest Gryffindors, her twin had finally caught up with them.

"And this," Luna paused for effect, "is my twin Kat."

"Katalina Lucille McCleary," the other brunette bowed at them. She straightened and smiled at Harry. "Good to see you in good health, Mr. Potter."

"You know me?" Harry questioned before blushing hotly. 'Of course she'd know you, idiot,' he berated himself. 'You're famous, after all.'

Luna grinned, plopping down next to him facing the other way. "Course we do. We do have a subscription to the _Prophet_, after all."

"We also," Kat added, picking a bit of toast and munching on it, "have a very reliable source."

"Who's the source?" Hermione asked suspiciously, not sure if the twins were trustworthy or not.

"You'll see soon enough," Luna shrugged. "We're here to make sure our friend does her reading today."

"What kind of reading?" Ginny, opting for a pancake, wanted to know.

"Oh," Luna lit up, twisting around to look at her, "us and a whole lotta friends have this entire theater at our disposal. It's a long story, but we have plays almost all year, every year. Anyway, the time is right for our second major play that we put on for some of the rich people that liveare around the neighborhood. They are never happy unless they hear we have entertainment for them."

"So, your friend is a character in the play?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"Yup," Luna nodded as Kat said, "One of the main characters."

"That's exciting," Neville spread a generous amount of apple jelly on his toast.

"Even more exciting," AJ appeared next to Kat, "when I actually _audition_ for the part."

Jack stopped next to her. "Meaning?" He wanted to know.

"Alright," she held her hands up in front of her. "Imagine this: You are in your office, minding your own business, when your best friend-who, mind, actually _did_ audition-bursts into your office and makes you spill the hot chocolate that you waited no less than an hourthirty minutes for all over the papers you were supposed to be signing. And _then_ your best friend reams you out about not telling her that you were auditioning for the same play and that you could've tried out together. And you go, 'What play?' And she goes, 'The play you got the lead in.' And then you say-"

"I think we got the picture," Jack interrupted.

"Did we ever figure out who signed you up?" Kat asked.

AJ shook her head. "No, but when I find out, I'm going to-"

"Ah, Jonathon," Albus Dumbledore chuckled as his gaze swept over Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Neville, and Ron, all of whom were looking a bit dazed. They have obviously never heard the gray-eyed brunette go off before. 'And you would never tell by looking at her and her behavior,' he mused.

"Yes, sir?" Jack gave him his undivided attention, having gotten over AJ's little rant with the easy familiarity bred from years of working with Daniel and Carter.

"I see you've met Kat and Luna," his smile was returned with a nod and a wave, respectively.

"Not really," Neville pointed out. "Professor O'Neill and AJ just got here."

Kat sighed. "Well, we will just have to introduce ourselves properly at a later date. AJ, we're supposed to go with you."

AJ rubbed her forehead. "Alright. Jack," she turned to him. "I'll have to take a rain check."

"Sure," he agreed.

"I'll see you guys later," she motioned for Kat and Luna to lead the way. "If I'm still alive after this."

Kat and Luna bid their new friends a fond-and slightly dramatic- farewell as they went to leave, both having snitched a muffin from a basket on the Hufflepuff Table.

"What could be so dangerous about a reading?" Hermione scoffed. "You're just going over lines."

AJ half turned to her. "Obviously, Hermione, you were not present for the first play last year. If you were, you would probably be singing a different tune." She shuddered and left.

Albus chuckled as Jack and the others just looked at each other.

"I shall like to see you in my office, my boy," Albus told Jack. "George said that he wanted a word."

"Will do, Professor," Jack tossed a salute that was met with a fond chuckle.

"What's that you're doing?" Ron wanted to know, finishing his eggs.

"That's called a salute," Jack said. "It's used to show respect in all branches of the Muggle military. The soldiers salute the officers and the officers salute a general, admiral, well," he shrugged, "anyone that holds power, including officers higher in rank."

Even Hermione was interested. She blinked a minute and slowly raised her hand so that she was loosely saluting, too.

"Use the right hand, Missy," Jack advised, nodding in approval when she hurried to correct it. "That's it."

Ginny and the boys copied her and Jack grinned. "Usually, you'd be standing up, but that'll work for now."

He saluted them back and looked around. "You guys might want to start heading out."

"Why?" Neville asked, finishing his toast.

"Class starts in a few minutes."

As the Gryffindors quickly vacated the Great Hall, Jack headed up to the Staff table and nodded to McGonagall. "Ten points to Gryffindor."

***

Harry, Ron, and Hermione managed to arrive at Hagrid's just as their housemates gathered around the half-giant.

"Right," Hagrid nodded as the Ravenclaws came closer. "I think it's time for yeh to pick out a Calflon."

"Oh," Hermione squealed. "We get one today?"

"How long do we keep them for?" Neville asked.

"Until Sunday," Hagrid grinned. Harry thought about it and shrugged.

"Shouldn't be so bad," he told Ron. "It'll only be four days."

"Oh, 'Ermione?"

"Yes?" Hermione perked up.

"Go an' fetch me kettle, please?"

"Sure thing, Professor!" she called back as she ran inside Hagrid's Hut. Having been there plenty of times to know where everything was, she headed straight for the kitchen, only to freeze as she caught sight of platinum blonde hair sticking out from the corner of an open drawer.

She slowly made her way over, wand in hand, and, pointing it inside, shouted, "Drop it, Malfoy!"

She heard a clang as something dropped and a head popped up.

"You won't believe how many times someone's called me that today."

Hermione started as emerald green eyes met hers.

"You're…not Malfoy…" She shook her head slowly as she let her arm drop slightly.

"Too right, I'm not," the unknown wizard huffed as he picked up the tea kettle she came for and climbed out. "Personally, I like to think I have better social skills. Oh, I'm Ian, by the way. Ian Arten."

Hermione shook his hand as she studied him. He looked to be a few inches shorter than Sirius Black, but at least two inches taller than Ron. An earring hung from his left ear and his tousled blonde hair looked like it had been raked through a few times. "I'm Herm-"

"Hermione Granger," Ian nodded. "Hagrid's told me about you. AJ, too, now that I think about it."

"You know AJ?" Hermione asked, going over to help carry the kettle.

"Sure," Ian grinned, plucking at his goldenrod colored wristband. "I go undercover with her a lot. Not that we give her much choice. Still, a gem to help, she is."

"I don't suppose you'd know Kat and Luna McCleary, either," Hermione said as they noticed that the class had moved to the paddock at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"Of course I do," he nodded. "Kit-Kat and Lucy are really good friends of mine."

"'Kit-Kat and Lucy'?" Hermione questioned.

"She loves the Kit-Kat candy and never goes a day without one. I call her Lucy, because she can't stand it."

"I don't get it."

Ian sighed. "Only child, aren't you?"

"Er, yes," she confirmed.

"You obviously haven't been teased by an older sibling before."

"Uh-oh, now you've gone and done it. Now you'll probably be seeing him a lot more."

Hermione looked up to see another wizard about Ian's height grinning at her.

"Hey, Dan," Ian waved, the trio rounding the corner to see Hagrid in the middle of explaining the proper care of a Calflon. "Hermione Granger, meet Dan Anderson, the nut who calls himself my best friend."

"AJ's Hermione?" Dan asked.

"AJ's Hermione," Ian confirmed. "Apparently, Lucy and Kit-Kat has made their appearance as well."

"'Ermione!" Hagrid grinned. "I see yeh've met Ian 'n' Dan, then."

The boys waved to the class as Hermione went over with the kettle.

"Hey, guys," Dan greeted, coming to stand beside Hagrid. "Ian and I will be helping with the Calflons today. So, call us if you need us. Hagrid?"

As the lesson went on, the fifth years quickly grew to like Ian and Dan. While Ian could've gotten along famously with George and Fred Weasley and the Marauders(i.e. Sirius and Remus), Dan reminded Harry of AJ. When he said as much to Hermione, she nodded and told him, "You're not too far off. Both of them are friends with her."

Then the time came for the choosing.

Ian laughed as Lavender's Calflon started playing with her ponytail. "Tommie'd love this."

Harry came over with a green-eyed black one that had a suspicious looking white patch on its forehead. "Thanks for helping us today. Er, when AJ helped, she was…" Harry shook his head. "Kinda tense."

"Yeah, she would be," Dan nodded. "She doesn't do well in front of an audience."

"How come she's in all those plays then?" Ron challenged, a blue-eyed red Calflon draped over a shoulder.

Ian grinned evilly. "Sure you want to know?"

Dan shook his head. "Don't pay attention to him. I meant that she doesn't do well with people she's just met."

"Of course," Hermione joined them, her caramel colored brown-eyed Calflon content in her arms. "Remember, she did say that she'd never been to Hogwarts."

Ian raised a hand. "Us, either. We just started hanging around this year."

Dan smiled. "Yeah."

"Why now?" Hermione asked as class ended and the others trickled out, each preoccupied with their assignment for the week.

Dan answered, "We'll tell you."

The five plus group entered the Entrance Hall a few minutes later.

"Well?" Hermione prompted. "You said you would tell us."

"Yeah," Dan nodded. "And we will."

"And when would that be?" Ron wanted to know.

Ian rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "When we figure it out."

"What?" Harry questioned, leading the way to Charms. "What does that mean?"

The two older looked at each other. Ian shrugged. Dan sighed and said, "Well… It's under orders."

"What kind of orders?" Hermione asked.

"Need to know," Ian sighed.

"How in the world," Hermione said in exasperation as she followed Harry, "can anyone have orders that are only need to know? And how do you go about trying to get information about the 'mission' like that?"

Dan shook his head, trailing after them. "That's sort of what we need to know."

"In English?" Ron asked.

"Well," Dan started.

"Here we go," Ian shook his head from beside Hermione.

"Hush you," Dan took a swipe at him. "But anyway. No one has a whole lot of information. I think the only ones who know about it are our employer and the Headmaster."

Ian thought about it for a minute. "Hey, now that I think about it, have you guys noticed that the Headmaster is more relaxed when we're around?"

The trio just looked at them.

"Er, bad example," Ian shook his head.

"Charms classroom," Dan pointed out unnecessarily. "Guess we'll be going."

Hermione, even knowing that she didn't know them well enough to trust them, was sorry to see them go. "Are you going to be hanging around?" She asked somewhat hopefully.

"Sorry, kid," Ian told her. "We'll be in Hogsmeade when you guys go. Maybe you can visit us then."

Hermione nodded sadly. She liked Dan and Ian sort of reminded her of Sirius. By the way Harry sighed, he was reminded of Sirius, too.

Ron waved before turning to the door and almost slamming into Jack O'Neill, who was going out.

"Easy there, Red," Jack steadied him.

"Hi, Professor," Hermione smiled a little watery grin as she ducked into the classroom.

"Hey, Missy," Jack called after her. "Hey, Harry. Who're your friends?"

As one, Ian and Dan pointed and said, "**You remind me of someone**."

"I get that a lot," Jack shrugged. "Better get in, you two. Class is starting."

Harry and Ron said their good-byes and closed the door on them so that Ian, Dan, and Jack were the only ones out in the hall.

Jack frowned at Dan. "Have we met somewhere before?"

"What?" Dan tilted his head to the side.

"Only with red hair," Jack added.

"You know Tim?" Ian asked.

"The priest, right? Yeah, I know him."

"Work at NORAD, do you?" Ian grinned, leading the way out. "He just got assigned there. What do you do?"

"Deep space radar telemetry," Jack immediately piped up. "Well, this is my stop. See you."

As the pair watched him go, Ian turned to Dan. "Tim said the same thing."

"Hmmm. Say, who does he remind you of?"

Ian shrugged. "I was going to ask you the same thing. Odd…"

Dan paused for a minute. "Hey, we never figured out why Hagrid needed that kettle in the first place!"

***

Harry made his way over to the Staff Table later that evening. Noticing the thunderous look on Jack's face, however, made him pause.

"Hm?" Jack looked up and instantly cleared. "Hey, you. I was hoping you'd stop by."

"Er, everything alright, Jack?"

"No," he blew out a breath. "I am going to give Jennings a piece of my mind for definite sure when I get back. And that's for a start. Then, I'm going to make him go to X39… er, or I could just lie and get him in trouble with our superior," Jack hoped Harry wouldn't call him on the slip.

Harry shook his head. "Want to talk about it?"

"I dunno. Anyway, you know Carter? The one I told you about and the blonde in those pictures in the classroom?"

Harry nodded for him to go on.

"Well, I trusted Jennings to look after her on a trip and she comes home with a twisted ankle," he ranted. 'Well, Carter twisted her ankle trying to run and shoot at the same time, and she also got shot in the arm,' Jack thought, 'but he doesn't need to know that.'

Harry leaned down even more. "Is she going to be alright?"

"Oh, yeah," Jack waved off his concern. "She's been through worse. It's definitely not the first time it's happened and it certainly won't be the last. Now, _Jennings_ on the other hand…"

"No promises?" Harry grinned reminiscent of the Marauders.

"Darn straight," Jack nodded with a grin of his own.

"I hope you are not conspiring with young Harry, Jonathon," Albus chided, stepping up behind the former on his way to his seat. He grinned. "At least wait for the weekend."

"Yes, sir," Jack saluted. Harry hurried to copy him, much to the Headmaster's amusement.

As Albus turned away, Harry turned back to his friend. "I was wondering if you would watch the tryouts this Saturday."

"Saturday, huh? Well, I dunno… See, I sort of promised my best friend Daniel that we would catch a movie and…" Jack trailed off as he noticed the disappointed look on Harry's face. "I'll see what I can do."

Harry grinned, knowing that was what he would get, and returned to his friends with a slight bounce in his step.

***

Across the Hall, Draco Malfoy sighed sadly as he watched his… not rival… sit down with his friends and Professor O'Neill shake his head as he went back to his dinner.

"Hey," Pansy waved her spoon in his face. "I don't see why you can't just go over there and say that you want to be friends with the Trio. I'm not exactly sure about Professor O'Neill, but you can try to be friends with him, too."

"Pansy," Millie shook her head, "you know why he can't do that. You know why none of us can do that. No matter how much we'd want it."

Blaise Zabini nodded as Theo Nott finally joined them. The little group never wanted to become enemies with their Gryffindor counterparts, but pressure from their families dictated otherwise. Never mind the fact that the two Houses were supposed to be enemies in the first place.

"Yeah," Theo pointed out, "the others would probably put the word out to our parents and we'd be in trouble for sure."

Blaise sighed dreamily as he turned his dark brown eyes to the Gryffindor Table. "Just imagine what it would be like to have friends like those. Not that I don't love you guys, of course," he hastily amended.

Pansy nodded, her gaze also turning dreamy. "I always thought that Granger and I had more in common than lessons and such. What do you think, Millie?"

The dark haired girl thought a moment. "I think you two would get along famously. I'd be friends with Weasley's sister perhaps."

The five Slytherins daydreamed a few more minutes before Blaise had to talk sense. "It's no use wishing for it," he told them sadly. "Probably never happen. Anyway, we should go do our work for tomorrow."

As the five got ready, Draco caught Professor O'Neill's eye and gave him a tentative smile. He was slightly surprised when he got a smile and a wink in return. He got curious when Madam Hooch leaned over to say something and the DADA professor suddenly turned a bit pale. Hooch laughed at that and the Professor plunked his head down on the table.

"I wonder what they're talking about," Millie caught the same scene.

"Maybe we'll find out some day," Draco mused.

The two joined the others and they all left together. As they were walking down the hall, however, Theo paused. "Hey, who is that?"

The others followed his gaze to see a vaguely familiar brunette staring thoughtfully into space.

Blaise tilted his head. "That's the Trio's new friend. Johnson, I think her name is."

Draco detached from the others and, mindful of his audience, approached her. "Johnson? Everything alright?"

"Hmm?" Grey eyes peered dreamily into his own. "Oh, hey, there. Don't think I've met you."

The blond sighed. "Will you be able to get to your quarters alright or do you need help?"

"You remind me of Ian, cept you don't have green eyes," she told him, not giving any sign that she heard.

"Alright then," Draco shrugged. "See you."

He turned back to the others and shook his head. Rejoining them, he looked back at her, who waved before fairly skipping out of the school, humming what seemed to be a Christmas carol.

"What do you think of that one?" Draco asked.

"Seems to be happy," Millie commented. "Wonder why."

"Potter sure knows how to pick them," Blaise chuckled as they resumed their journey.

***

It didn't make any sense at all.

It was one thing for the writings to be different from the spoken word and yet still be a variation of it, but it was another altogether when the writings of M20-558 didn't match the spoken word _or_ earlier versions at _all_. Even his extensive books on Latin were useless and he'd never encountered that particular problem before. It was getting so that he was honestly going to get physically violent-

"What'd that muffin do to you?"

Blue eyes came back into focus as Daniel Jackson picked his head up to stare at a vaguely familiar brown-eyed blonde, who was staring at him with a mixture of curiosity, interest, a smidge of hero worship, and slight apprehension about approaching him.

"Oh, hey," Daniel nodded as he finally remembered the female twin from the store. "Where's your twin?"

"Dan's teaching a class," she cautiously approached him. Danni, Daniel remembered, seemed to keep out of arms reach of him.

"He's a teacher?"

"No, we co-manage our family's store," she eased into her seat.

"Hmm," Daniel looked around the coffeehouse they were in. It was fairly new, but Daniel was already an established regular which wasn't a hardship since he lived at least fifteen minutes from the small shop. "You alright?"

"Sorry, it's just that you looked strangely like my best friend, AJ, for a minute there." Danni shrugged.

"Is that bad?"

"Well," Danni shifted slightly. "Maybe not for you, but when she gets that look on her face, something bad happens."

"Hm. Hey, have you tried the new flavor?" Daniel held up his half-empty cup of coffee.

"Nah, I have to sleep tonight," she shrugged.

Daniel shook his head. "Can you believe that jewelry robbery over in England?"

Danni had this strange look on her face as she nodded. "Yeah, my friend's over there now. Apparently, it was this high security type of place and I think you know what happens when this sort of thing happens."

"Tell me about it," Daniel shook his head as he went over all of his career with the military. When one high security place gets broken into, places like the SGC hyped up their security in response.

"So," he said after a few more minutes. "I suppose you were joking when you said that bad things happen when your friend has a certain look on her face."

Danni looked scandalized at that. "I think not! You wouldn't believe it anyway."

Daniel grinned at that. "Oh, yeah? Try me." After all the years with the Stargate program, he didn't think that there was anything that surprised him anymore, but, if Jack's journal turned out to be real, then the list narrowed down quite a bit.

"Alright," Danni sat back. "The last time, for example, it was right before she went to a meeting in Sri Lanka."

"So?" Daniel motioned her on as he bit into his muffin.

"December 26, 2004."

Silence.

"Told you that you wouldn't believe it."

***

AN: this is probably the longest one to date. Hope it was alright with you guys.

I don't own the Kit Kat candy company and, as of yet, I don't have the candy. Not that I eat it a lot.

Ah, about the whole 'slash' issue…

I don't know if I explained this, but it will be strictly OC slash. Sorry for all you Jack/Daniel shippers out there. As well as Draco/Harry fans. I'm thinking of pairing Harry with Hermione, but that may not be for awhile yet.

Although, I may have Sirius/Remus designs in the future.

Kidding!

Maybe… (shifty eyes)

Hyper

Dec. 20, 2008

Oh, yeah, if possible this week, take a moment to say a small prayer for all those devastated from the Asian Tsunami.

Happy Holidays! Maybe I'll have something up for Christmas…


	23. Chapter 23

Defense 23

There was something different about her, he knew it. The only problem was Jack had absolutely no idea what changed.

"Is there a reason you're looking at me like I'm in Interrogation?"

"You've been in there?" Jack blinked as the Three Broomsticks came back into focus, a plate of chocolate chip cookies to share with AJ and butterbeers for both.

She shrugged. "Only for appearances. I remember this one time- Stop changing the subject!"

The pair had met up for a snack before dinner, because classes had let out early for Quidditch tryouts. At the moment, Slytherin House was using the Pitch to take advantage of the last few hours of sunlight.

Jack sighed and rubbed his temple. "Something's changed about you. I just can't figure…"

He stared as AJ flipped her hair over her shoulder. Her _short_ hair. "Hey! You cut your hair. Looks nice," he complimented as she stood to model her new hair. She had cut her brown hair to shoulder-length with it at least two inches past. "Ever think about cutting it all the way to your ears?" He took a moment to imagine her with it, before shaking his head. "Better not. I'll probably end up mixing you with Carter."

"Why? He have brown hair, too?" AJ sat down again to sip at her drink.

"No, she has blonde hair. Her name's Sam Carter."

"Why do you call her by her last name, then?" AJ tilted her head to the side.

"She doesn't want to be seen as a girl. She's a major on the base I work in. Carter's also a part of my team and she told me early on that she didn't want to be seen as a female in 'a male's world'. Her words, not mine," Jack shrugged.

"I see," AJ nodded. Jack got the distinct impression that she really did understand.

"We've gotten into the habit of seeing her as one of the guys that it always throws us for one when she actually acts all feminine," Jack added.

"You're telling me," AJ rolled her eyes. "Somehow or another, my guy friends seem to see me as one of the boys, especially at the Station. Police office down the street," she explained. "So anyway, every time I have to do dress rehearsal or something like that, all the guys, and I mean _all, _seem to forget that I'm in reality not one of them and it never fails to amuse the girls every single time."

They spent a few minutes more talking about the upcoming Quidditch season before Jack had to return to the castle.

As Jack passed the Slytherin House Team in their huddle, weighing each candidate's pros and cons, he spied Bulstrode, Parkinson, Zabini, and Nott off to the side; loyally waiting for whom Jack had dubbed 'The Prince' or 'His Highness'.

The team broke off, decisions made, and Prince joined his friends.

"Hey, there," Jack was open to new friends and decided that he couldn't really hold a grudge against students for actions prior to the Welcome Feast, no matter how hurtful words were. Unlike the Goa'uld, he didn't really see the Slytherins as that bad. 'For snakes, anyway,' he thought before continuing, "Dinner should be starting soon."

"We know," Parkinson nodded. "We're going that way now."

"Let me walk with you guys," Jack invited himself along, trailing after the group, not waiting for an answer.

"Why?" Nott wanted to know, looking at him somewhat suspiciously. "We aren't doing anything."

Jack shrugged. The group looked at each other and made it seem like it was no big deal, but Jack had a feeling that this particular lot didn't seem to mind him hanging around, though Prince still seemed a bit wary of him. "Maybe I just feel like it. Then again, there's the old saying that there's safety in numbers."

"You don't believe that, seriously?" Zabini shook his head.

"Worked for me so far."

The six went their separate ways, Jack having the craziest impression that they were slightly disappointed to find that he wasn't going just yet, at the Great Hall doors.

"I'll see you all later," he waved them off. "It's time for my daily phone call."

The Slytherins watched him turn the corner, but not before he heard Nott ask, "What was that about?"

"Don't know," Bulstrode shrugged. "What's a 'phone call', anyway?"

***

AJ shook her head as she came out of the Headmaster's fireplace the next day.

"Professor?" She looked around and shrugged. 'Must have gone out.'

As she entered the main hallway a few minutes later, she passed a group of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws.

"Um, miss?" One of the girls got her attention.

"Hm? What's wrong?"

"Have you seen Professors O'Neill or Dumbledore? No one's seen them since before dinner last night."

"I'll look into it," AJ grinned at her before moving on. She stood at the Great Hall doors and scanned it for Albus and Jack, getting worried when she didn't find any of them.

"Hi, AJ," Hermione waved her over to the table she staked out with the boys, who were getting ready for the tryouts. "Looking for someone?"

"Yeah, Jack and Albus. Have you seen them?" She asked.

"They're gone?" Harry was immediately on high alert. "What happened?"

"I don't know. The last time I saw Jack was just before dinner at the Broomsticks. And I saw him leave," AJ pointed out.

Neville appeared next to her, "I saw him walk in with Malfoy and the others, but he went one way and they went into the Great Hall and never left until after dessert."

"Malfoy?" Ron echoed. "Why was he hangin' out with them?"

Neville shrugged just as Ginny and Colin Creevey joined them. "Hey, guys," she said as Colin waved energetically. "What's going on?"

AJ turned to them. "Jack and the Headmaster haven't been seen since before dinner."

Colin thought a minute before telling them, "When I was walking that first year up to the Hospital Wing, Professor Dumbledore said that he was going to meet up with one of his old friends, but someone fire-called him and he'd be out for most of the day."

"Well, that takes care of one of them," AJ nodded. "What about Jack?"

"Hey, Harry!" Fred called to him. "We gotta go!"

As Neville, Ginny, and Colin left them alone, AJ turned to the Trio. "I'll look for him. You guys go over to the Pitch and make Gryffindor proud. I'll be by in an hour to tell you if I've found anything."

As Harry, Ron, and Hermione left at a trot, AJ turned a thoughtful gaze to the enchanted ceiling. 'Hope he's alright…'

***

"Harry," Hermione stopped the boys outside the doors, "I'll go get the Map and meet you two out there. If Jack's on the grounds, we'll find him."

Ron pulled on his mate's arm. "See you," he said as they both turned to leave.

Hermione ran as fast as she could to the Tower, almost running several younger years over as well as Millie Bulstrode, who pretty much dove out of the way. Once inside, she scurried up to the Fifth year boy dorms and pounced at Harry's trunk.

She got it open and rummaged through, finally finding it under the jumpers that Mrs. Weasley had sent him for the past few Christmases.

"'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good'," she pointed her wand at the Map and sighed as the lines appeared. Opening it, she slowed down and looked over the moving dots and accompanying labels. Looking in the Great Hall, she found a dot labeled 'A. Johnson' and shook her head as she noticed the ink change. "She really does like teal," she grinned absently before spotting another differently colored dot named 'Danielle Anderson', in purple, honing in on AJ like a heat seeking missile. 'Ian Arten' and 'Daniel Anderson' followed more timidly.

"They must be related," Hermione concluded before watching a 'George Hammond' wander into the Hospital Wing. Perusing the map for a few more minutes, she sighed as she found no trace of the missing Defense teacher, but did witness the return of Albus Dumbledore for a few minutes before he left again. Shaking her head, she re-folded the map and, putting things to rights, took it with her, wanting to know the second Jack returned.

On her way out of the school, she grinned as she came upon AJ, Ian, Dan, and another blonde who looked remarkably like Dan.

"Twins," Ian explained as she passed with a wave.

Leaving the school, she quickened her pace until she arrived at the Pitch, where the candidates were being grouped together according to position. Since Ron was trying out for the Keeper position, she would be sitting by herself.

Or so she thought.

"Her-mio-ne!"

She looked up and blinked as she saw Luna McCleary wave at her from quite a ways up in the stands. Grinning, the Gryffindor hurried over, taking what company she could get.

As she got closer, she saw that Luna had brought her twin along, as well as two other girls; one with black eyes and light chestnut brown hair pulled up in buns on each side of her head, and the other with blue eyes and brown hair gathered in a pony tail save for a strip on the left side of her head with a bead tied halfway onto the lock. Interestingly, as with Ian, Dan, and AJ, the four girls were dressed with the color of the wrist bands encircling the left wrist. Luna was dressed in brown, her twin claimed light brown, while the black-eyed girl had beige and the other had a cool gray.

"We got friends," Luna said with a childish grin. "Hermione Granger, meet Alanna Michelle Arten and Gizelle, er…"

"Gizelle Aramamilla Francesca Athena Lis-" Gizelle clamped a hand over Alanna's mouth.

"Lanie jests," she claimed with a grimace. "Gizelle Camille Arkens at your service." She gave Hermione a warm smile as she released her friend, who pouted.

"I liked my version better," Lanie sulked. She reached over to shake Hermione's hand as Luna shot a look over at Gizelle.

"Your middle name is Camille?" She asked.

"Yes, Luna," Gizelle nodded, used to her friend's antics. "As it has been the last fifty odd times you have enquired."

As Luna was about to open her mouth, Lanie perked up. "There they go," she pointed as the candidates and original team took to the sky.

"Ah! Who's winning?"

Hermione tore her eyes from the Chasers to see an elderly woman trek cheerfully up to them, cane in her left hand and a medium sized paper bag in her right.

"Grandmother," Gizelle pointed out, "I told you that this was tryouts for the Gryffindor House Quidditch Team. The first game is right before Halloween."

"As I said," the older witch settled down next to Hermione, who smiled at her before turning back to the players. "Which group is doing well?"

The six watched as George hurried over to deflect a Bludger that had traveled a little too close to the Keeper section for comfort. Poor Ron was already nervous enough. Harry, on the other hand, had his plate full with his four charges and just managed to duck the other Bludger, but it was a near thing.

"Did they release the Snitch?" Luna questioned.

"Not yet," Hermione told her, eyes roaming the field. "I think it's just exercises now."

"Hey, Monia," Lanie said, "I thought you didn't like peanuts."

"I don't," she answered, "but Shirley does, Merlin knows why." She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she handed the smaller bag over to her granddaughter for safe keeping. "Oh, my name is Margret Pecks, but the young people in the neighborhood took to calling me Monia," she introduced herself to Hermione, who blinked at her.

"That's an interesting nickname," Hermione grinned.

Monia shrugged. "Ah well. One of the children couldn't say my name at all, so someone came up with 'Monia' and it stuck. Cauldron cake, dear?" She offered the bag to Hermione and soon the group were munching on the bag's contents ("Can I help it if I have a sweet tooth?") as they watched and commented on each of the candidates.

After about an hour or so, the candidates were corralled together as the team got into their huddle. Hermione craned her neck to see them and she could see that Luna and Lanie did too.

"What do you think?" Monia asked. "I have to say, I think that young redhead- Ron was it?- did very well."

"Yeah, but I think he needs more practice," Kat pointed out. "He and that Crow boy are the only ones that seem to know what they're doing, though."

"Harry can keep his job," Luna announced confidently. "He was the only one that could spot the Snitch."

"I thought Carlisle and Christie were good Chasers," Gizelle said. "Maybe the team will have much better luck next year."

The team broke from the huddle and addressed the hopefuls. The group couldn't hear anything, but they suspected that the new members would be posted later because everyone else left until only Ron and the team remained. When the group finally got down there, Harry had already changed back into his ordinary clothes and he and Ron were waiting for their female friend.

"Hi, Kat and Luna," Harry grinned at them.

"Hi, there," Luna waved.

"So, what's the deal with the new members?" Lanie wanted to know.

After a quick introduction ("Lanie, don't you dare!" "What? I think your name would be better if-" "_**Lanie**_!" "Alright! Jeez…"), Harry explained, "We have to run it by Professor McGonagall first. We post before dinner at the latest."

Monia checked her watch and grimaced. "Well, we have just enough time to gather the others before Maddie and Rachael send out the search parties. Oh, it's not that bad," she tsked as she heard groans.

"Not that bad?!" Lanie rolled her eyes. "You have obviously forgotten the last time! They dressed poor AJ up in the strangest get-up I've ever seen!"

"I wouldn't talk if I were you," the Trio started as Ian appeared from out of nowhere behind them. "You guys dress her up in get-ups even stranger."

"Ah, there you all are," Monia beamed approvingly as Dan, AJ, and Danni followed, the female blonde hanging on her best friend's arm.

After introducing Danni to everyone, the Trio said their good-byes. "Oh," Harry remembered, "Did you find Jack?"

AJ's good mood suddenly vanished as she remembered. "No. The last anyone saw him, he was headed toward his quarters. I looked and I don't even know if he made it that far."

"Aw, Sweetheart," Danni cooed. "Your friend will turn up soon enough."

As Hermione's new friends took their leave, she couldn't help but giggle as she heard Monia comment to Ian," You should've seen the Gryffindor team in action. There was no comparison!"

Dan turned to Gizelle and said," I wonder about your Nana sometimes."

"Alone, you are not," she sighed as they soon went out of earshot.

"What was that about?" Ron wanted to know. Hermione just giggled again and shook her head.

***

When the Trio arrived in Gryffindor Tower, they found their year mates very upset.

"What's going on?" Harry wanted to know.

"They're gone!" Lavender fell into a startled Hermione's arms sobbing uncontrollably.

Pavarti, Neville, Seamus, and Dean surrounded them.

"Who's gone?" Ron asked Neville.

He answered grimly, "The Calflons."

***

After searching the Tower thoroughly, it was lunchtime when they decided to wait to see if the missing Calflons would come back on their own. After getting the Map back and returning it to his trunk, Harry told his friends that he'd rather eat in the kitchens.

That was how the Trio found themselves as they went down to the kitchens. They tickled the pear and stepped right in, being surrounded by well meaning elves, went to sit, and froze as they came face to face with their missing Defense Teacher.

"Jack!" Harry instantly plopped down next to him and shyly gave him a light hug.

"Where have you been?" Hermione sat across from him. "We've been worried sick."

"Yeah, mate," Ron added his two cents, sitting across from his professor.

"Er," Jack shrugged, eating his potatoes, " Emergency at the base."

"You couldn't have told us?" Harry was slightly hurt by that.

"Harry, I highly doubt that I could've even if I wanted to," Jack grimaced. "It was… sudden… and I didn't get the chance to really do anything."

"That's silly," Hermione sniffed. "You couldn't have left a note or something?"

Jack shook his head. "Missy, when you find yourself suddenly in the middle of a situation with no weapon on you, then we'll talk."

"Don't you have your wand?" Ron shoved some bread into his mouth.

"That's my secret weapon," Jack shrugged. "They don't know that I can do magic and I'd rather not tell them if I can help it."

"I guess I understand that," the redhead nodded.

"And I don't think they would've understood, anyway," Jack added. "At least, I don't think so. But then, those suckers are as mysterious as, well…"

"The stars?" Harry supplied.

"I'll buy that," Jack looked at him with the strangest look on his face.

"Hermione made some new friends today," Ron told him. "I was trying out for the Keeper spot."

Jack grimaced. "Sorry about that. If it's any consolation, I couldn't spend time with my best friend like we planned. Anyway, Missy, what's this I hear about new friends?"

Hermione gladly filled him in on the time she spent watching the try outs with Kat, Luna, Lanie, Gizelle, and Monia, the one who hated peanuts with unrivaled passion. "I think they're AJ's friends, too. Lanie looked a bit like Ian. I'm pretty sure they're related."

"They seemed like fun," Ron commented, starting in on the pumpkin pie that he'd asked for.

"Yeah," Harry grinned. "Lanie seems to like making up names."

When lunch ended, the four left the kitchens, Harry just narrowly avoiding cracking his head when Dobby jumped him and Winky seemed to be better because she offered them brownies to take with them, which Jack took sole advantage of. "What?" He stared back at Hermione as he took the tray filled with almost three dozen brownies. "My best friend loves chocolate and he's always first when they serve it, no matter how busy he is. He and my other teammates, Carter and Murray, always seem to forget that I wanted some too, so I don't get some unless I have to resort to sneaky tactics."

"What kind of sneaky tactics?" Ron perked up at that.

Jack grinned slightly as he offered a brownie to a passing Hufflepuff. "The ones only a Marauder would be proud of."

He raised an eyebrow as all three of his students came up short with a sort of incredulous expression on their faces.

"You know about the Marauders?" Hermione demanded.

"Well," Jack shrugged, somewhat wary at her tone. "The Twins Weasley were telling me something about someone called Padfoot when I walked in on them in the Defense classroom the other day. I'm not sure what all exactly they were talking about; they lost me after 'It's not what it looks like, we swear!', but the impression I got was that they looked up to this guy and some friends of his that call themselves the Marauders."

"Do you want to know about them?" Harry was still sort of nervous for some reason; even though he knew that there was nothing to be nervous of when talking about them.

"Nah," Jack shook his head as they walked up near the Great Hall. "That's alright. I have to go grade the papers I was supposed to have done last night before my little side trip. Then I'll go sleep before dinner," he turned the corner. "Bloody Replicators. That's another nightmare to add."

"What do you suppose they are?" Ron questioned his friends.

"Maybe a Muggle thing?" Harry suggested.

"I've never heard of them," Hermione told them.

"Maybe they're an American Muggle thing?" Ron asked. "He seems to like that sort of stuff."

Hermione thought about it and nodded. "It's an idea. I would like to visit America, though, one day. What about you two?"

"I've never really thought about it," Harry admitted.

"Me, either," Ron added. "But Jack makes it sound fun and interesting."

"What do you think," Harry mused, "would be the odds that we can get him to talk about it some more in class?"

"We can try it," Hermione offered. Ron gasped in shock.

"You don't want to learn? Hermione, are you alright? Would you like to go to the Hospital Wing?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Yes, I'd like to learn, but I would like to hear a bit more about America. It's not every year that we get a teacher that has been in that country. Once I'm satisfied, then we'll go back to the books."

When they got back to the Tower, they were disappointed to learn that not only have the Calflons not come back, but the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws reported that the ones in their possession went missing, too. They weren't sure about the Slytherins and Ron didn't really care.

By dinnertime, it was clear that the Calflons had disappeared and not even the Map was helping.

"You'd think they had dropped off the face of the Earth," Seamus plopped down next to Pavarti a half hour before dinner.

"That's silly," Hermione countered from the other side of Pavarti and Lavender. "No one can just drop off the face of the Earth." (AN: *grin* Remember, she and the others don't know about the Stargate. Yet, anyway. But alas, no. They won't find out for awhile yet.)

"How do you know?" Ron countered. Hermione just glared at him.

Just then, the portrait opened and Jack walked in with an annoyed look on his face. "Fifth years! Front and center!"

Harry and Hermione, remembering that phrase from earlier in the year, immediately rounded up their year mates and went over to stand in front of their waiting professor.

"If you would follow me?"

Jack then turned and led the group out of the Tower, down the stairs, and several hallways.

"Where do you think he's taking us?" Neville asked, nervously.

"Are we in trouble?" Dean piped up.

Jack shook his head as he kept going. "Sorry if I gave that impression. I was just in the middle of grading papers when I felt something brush my leg. I look down and I find a few pairs of eyes looking at me. Now, I'm betting that you guys found out that your Care of Magical Creatures assignments went AWOL, er, missing, and you guys were tearing your hair out looking for them. Well, I gotta tell you, not only do I know where they are, but they reminded me of the reason I don't teach at boarding schools."

Jack managed a few more steps before he realized that no one was behind him anymore. Turning around, he was taken aback as he saw that each and every one of them had a horrified look on their face. The girls, to Jack's alarm, were all near tears.

"You're not quitting, are you?" Pavarti sniffled. Even though she thought he was odd, he kind of grew on her and she didn't want to be part of the reason of his leaving.

"What? Oh, no, no, I'm not. Honest," Jack went back and patted her shoulder, hoping like hell that Carter and Daniel were there. He'd even settle for AJ, as he was terrible with upset females. "Don't you all worry. If my best friend couldn't get rid of me that easily, what makes you think you would?"

"Are you sure?" Neville asked quietly. "What if you change your mind?"

"I won't," Jack said confidently. "C'mon. While you guys pick up your charges, we'll have some hot cocoa or something. "

The girls still sniffled and the boys were unusually quiet as Jack herded them on. When they got there, Jack pretty much ordered them to sit and make themselves at home while he corralled the missing Calflons.

The Trio all chose to sit on some of the bean bags littering the sitting area and took a look around. As Hermione chose a pretty blue one, Ron took a light green one, and Harry claimed a silver one that had an odd symbol all over it (Harry fancied it looked like an upside down 'V', but with a circle at the top of the apex), everyone studied the room around them. Pavarti and Lavender admired the three pencil drawings of who they recognized as the blonde woman in some of the pictures adorning the classroom walls, the one man who wore glasses, and, more recently, one of who they also recognized as one AJ Johnson drinking from a bottle and reading a book while balancing on the back legs of a chair. Dean and Seamus went over to look at the bookshelf and Neville was delighted to see at least four plants hanging around.

Hermione got Ron and Harry's attention and directed them to some pictures on a small table near by. Ron picked one up and saw Jack and a girl that looked like Jack's daughter coloring in what appeared to be a kitchen of some kind. Hermione grinned as she saw a picture from an SGC Halloween party; the blonde was dressed as some kind of fairy, the large African American that she thought was intimidating didn't look quite so scary when he was dressed up as a reindeer, and the man with glasses grinned at her as he masqueraded around as a puppy, complete with dog ears. She giggled as she spotted Jack squeezed in between the fairy and puppy, his brown eyes strangely out of place in the costume that could only have been inspired by none other than Headmaster Dumbledore. Harry, on the other hand, smiled softly as he looked at who he recognized as Daniel, who was holding up a cake announcing his name and age. Harry thought he looked sort of shy as he proudly wore his paper crown, with Jack's arm thrown over his shoulders as both grinned at the camera. He tilted his head as he thought of a picture in his album that showed his father, James, and Sirius in a similar pose.

Everyone turned their attention away as the missing animals appeared in the room and leapt onto their respective caretakers.

"Don't know how they managed to get in here," Jack shrugged as he went into the kitchen. "I'm pretty sure I closed everything…"

Getting a tray, he got nine cups and got the cocoa ready. At the last minute, he took the left over brownies and added it. When he came back to the entrance, he looked around and didn't miss a beat as he set the tray on the coffee table and told them, "I think I need more bean bags."

Every kid had claimed one and they had arranged them in a semi circle facing Jack. That didn't leave one for him, so he went and got a chair from the kitchen before facing them. After all had a cup, Jack studied them and sighed. "I didn't mean what I said back there. It's not that I don't like cats or whatever it is these characters are." They smiled slightly at that. "I just don't like it when something surprises me like that. To be honest, I'm pretty sure I almost shot Missy's. If I'd had my sidearm on me," he added before downing half of his cup in one go.

"Is that bad?" Seamus wanted to know.

"Er, sort of," Jack grimaced slightly. "Don't worry about it. So, it seems to me that you guys have some abandonment issues. Wanna talk about it?"

"Well, you know that you're our fifth DADA teacher," Lavender told him. "We're sort of sick of having different teachers every year."

"Yeah," Neville decided to pipe up. "All of them except Professor Lupin tried to do Harry in."

"But Professor Lockhart didn't try to kill him," Pavarti pointed out.

"Yeah," Ron scoffed. "Besides try to wipe our memories."

"I don't think he counts, anyway," Seamus scowled. "I thought he was an idiot."

The other boys nodded in agreement. Hermione glared. "He was not!"

"Of course he wasn't," Pavarti and Lavender agreed. "What do you think, Professor?"

They looked at him. The boys were delighted to see his nose scrunched up. "I don't think you want to know what I think of him, girls. You are very better off not knowing. If anything, I'd like to take him with me on my next mission and let him loose."

If the boys were thinking what Jack was thinking, then they weren't sure they wanted to know what Jack did when he wasn't at the school.

"I think you're being too harsh, Professor," Hermione sniffed haughtily. "You wouldn't be so mean if you'd read his books."

"Missy," Jack reasoned, "I _have_ read his books! If anything, it just confirmed my suspicions about the jerk. "

They spent the next few minutes completely off track as they were involved in a heated debate about said jerk, boys against girls.

"Alright," Jack yelled over the arguing. "Back to the original subject! Now, I get that you guys get tired of having a new face every year. But why are you guys so… wary of me just up and leaving?"

"I think that you're the first teacher that everyone likes," Dean said.

Ron had to think a minute about that. "Yeah, actually." His friends stared at him. "No, really! Haven't you guys noticed that Malfoy and his lot haven't been all that bad in Defense class? Just last week, Zabini said that, over Wright, he'd take Jack any day."

Neville mused, "Um, if it helps, last Charms class, Pansy Parkinson actually smiled at me when I managed to do the assignment in class."

"When?" Seamus asked.

"Right before we left."

Jack shook his head. "And the point is…"

"The Slytherins haven't been as nasty to us as they have in the past," Hermione summed up.

"Or the Hufflepuffs," Harry remembered. "I saw Nott helping one of the first years up in the library earlier this year."

Jack had a feeling that something else was going on, but he couldn't figure it out yet. In fact, he wasn't entirely sure that they knew, anyway.

"Well," Jack nodded to himself, "Reasons aside, what can I do to make you guys relax about this and trust me not to just up and quit?"

Looking at each other, the kids had a crazy idea. Being Gryffindors, they agreed to ask.

Harry took it upon himself to speak for the group. "Well, we do have this suggestion…"

***

Later that night, Ginny Weasley looked over near the fireplace.

"I'm going up, Professor. Will you be alright down here by yourself?"

Jack poked his head out of his nest of blankets and pillows.

"Yeah," he waved her off. "It's not the first time I've had to pitch camp and it certainly won't be the last. I'll be fine, Weasley. Sleep and I'll see you bright and early."

"Okay," she said uncertainly. She shrugged and trudged upstairs to her dorm as Jack returned under the covers.

'Note to self,' he mused, 'on the next trip home, figure out what I did with that sleeping bag. I kinda miss camping out with the kids on other planets. Maybe I can go camping later, before it gets cold out. I'll have to ask Albus if I can borrow the Pitch for a night.' He paused. 'I wonder if AJ'd like to go camping…'

***

Hermione sighed as she pushed her curtains apart. "I can't sleep."

Lavender and Pavarti pushed their own curtains aside. "We can't either."

Pavarti sighed. "I don't think we should've asked him to stay the night. I feel bad that he has to sleep on the floor."

"Yeah," Lavender nodded.

The three girls just looked at each other. Lavender turned to look out the window and started. "Hey, isn't that Harry's owl?"

"Hedwig?" Hermione immediately went to open the window. The snowy owl hooted and held a leg out to her.

"What is it?" Pavarti got out of bed and went to look at the message as Hermione untied it.

When Lavender joined them, the three read silently.

_Hermione-_

_Me, Ron, Neville, Dean, and Seamus are going to sleep in the common room, with Jack. What about you?_

_Harry_

"We'll go, too," Lavender insisted going back to her bed and gathering the pillows and blankets while Hermione wrote back to Harry, saying that they would be right down.

Pillows and blankets in hand, the girls trooped down, somewhat surprised to see the Creevey brothers, Lee Jordan, Ginny Weasley, and The Weasley twins already picking out a spot around the dozing teacher. The boys went down a minute later.

"Hey," Ron exclaimed. "What are you lot doing here?"

"Well," Fred began, "I didn't want the Prof to be down here all alone-"

"-especially with Sirius Black still on the loose and all," George added.

"Well, what does he have anything to do with this?" Harry wanted to know.

"It's the idea," Fred insisted. "He could sneak back in. He's done it before."

Harry opened his mouth to defend his godfather, slightly forgetting that the others didn't know about Sirius and the whole Shrieking Shack incident, but Hermione smoothly stepped in. "I highly doubt Black would come back here. Security is a bit tighter now than it was."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Actually, we felt horrible that he's down here by himself. So, we decided to stay down here with him."

The nest moved and a tousled mop of hair appeared. "I don't care where you bunk, but just do it. We have a five mile hike in the morning. Carter, you get first shift. Wake me in three hours…"

The Gryffindors stared at each other in bemusement as their teacher went back to sleep.

"D'you think he was dreaming?" Colin asked.

"I wonder what he was dreaming about," Lee mused.

The others shrugged it off and got to work. Within minutes, they were settled and fast asleep.

***

AN: You guys will be seeing much more of AJ and her friends several times in this story. I'm planning on including them in the second sequel. Unfortunately, I need to make more headway on this one. I think after the next chapter, it'll be Halloween, but Hogsmeade will be next chapter. I'm sorry about the tryouts. I'll do better on the Quidditch game. I hope.

New members will be posted in the next chapter too.

Hope you enjoyed it. I tried to keep in character, but I'm not sure about the last half of it…

Hyper

January 5, 2009


	24. Chapter 24

Defense 24

'I thought Daniel said this was a bigger tent,' was the first thought he'd had the next day. He moved an arm to dislodge the weight wedged into his side and froze when he realized that 'Daniel' was thinner than he remembered.

Peeking out of the nest he'd made the night before, he relaxed when he saw a very familiar mop of black sticking out of the cocoon next to him. Jack's eyes widened as he saw that he was surrounded by kids all around.

A few minutes later, Jack put his corner to rights and looked at his floor mates. He grinned as green eyes blinked at him.

"Morning, kiddo. I'll be at breakfast when you all wake up," Jack stepped over the lumps in his way and waved a good bye to Harry, who decided sleep was a more appealing activity at the moment.

After going to his quarters to change as he had walked up with the group in his PJs ("I'm a teacher and, I'll have you know, I've walked around in stranger places, dressed up in crazier things. Oh, stop looking at me like that, Missy. When you decide to move to America and sign up for the Muggle Air Force, then we'll talk."), Jack ambled into the Hall and waved over to the Prince and his pals, who were in their usual places at the Slytherin Table, and grinned as the girls blinked at him before raising a hand in confused greeting and the boys just nodded at him. Jack could've sworn that Prince sent him a small smile, but it was small and quick.

"Ah, Jonathon," Albus smiled as he smeared grape jam on his toast. "I hope you slept well in the Gryffindor commons?"

Jack shot him a look as he plopped down beside his old professor. "I'm not sure I want to know how you know that. In any case- _GAH!_" Jack yelped and put a hand on his heart as a ball of flame appeared over his left shoulder.

"Ah, Fawkes," Albus chuckled as Jack gave the phoenix a dirty look and gulped down his coffee, trying to calm his racing pulse. "I see you have something for Jack. I'll take that." He took the envelope out of his familiar's beak and with another burst of flame, Fawkes was gone.

Albus chuckled even more as his young friend continued to play it up. Shaking his head at the other's antics, he caught sight of Pansy Parkinson and Millie Bulstrode giggling together. He would've thought it was something they were talking about if he hadn't seen the three males of the group glance up at the Staff Table before hiding smiles of varying degrees. Other students around the Great Hall became aware of their Defense Teacher's act and started laughing as Jack, sensing an audience, put a little more effort into his play acting and applause broke out when he took a bow.

"Always one for entertainment," Albus nodded as Jack settled to eat. "I remember this one time when you put on a similar show for several first years when you were in third. They were all somewhat homesick and you couldn't stand to see them so down."

"Yeah," Jack shrugged. "I do that sometimes when someone on base needs a laugh." He grinned as he remembered when one of the teams brought along a young redhead from MO3-997. She was feeling a bit homesick so he took it upon himself to entertain her in the mess. Needless to say, not only did she feel better, but Jack was a bit surprised when, at the end of his little skit, everyone in the cafeteria gave him applause and morale was through the roof as the story spread through the grapevine like a brushfire. Even now, when he wasn't busy, there would be an occasional request for him to 'put on his clown nose', as General Hammond put it. It was a huge boost of self confidence when he always came through.

The Great Hall filled up as the day went on.

***

He shifted as someone poked him in the arm.

"Doctor Jackson?"

He vaguely remembered saying something to the intruder before slipping back to sleep.

"DANIEL!"

He immediately shot up and said the first thing that came to mind. "' I didn't know that pillow belonged to you, honest!'"

"I certainly hoped that was a nice thing that you just said."

"Uh," he looked to see a curious Father Tim Anderson peering at him from the other side of the desk. "'Yeah, sorry, Father'." He rubbed his eyes as he realized that he'd said that in Abydonian. He repeated the second, but Daniel didn't think the redhead would want to know about the first. "What's wrong?"

"Well, I was hoping that you could help me find something of mine…" Tim fidgeted nervously.

Daniel immediately straightened and put his glasses on. "Of course, I will!" As Daniel fluttered around trying to put a place marker in the various books ("Er, Daniel?" "Yeah?" "You realize that's a sock?" "Oh, it is?"), Tim explained, "You see, my cousin made a book mark for me and I voted as one of my very favorites. I feel terrible about it."

"Where did you last see it?" Daniel pulled his jacket on and followed him.

"The storage room." Daniel pulled up short.

"What?"

Tim shrugged. "That's a long story, there."

Daniel stared a few minutes before trekking to the elevator. "This like a priest thing or something?"

"More like an Anderson thing," he smiled faintly. "We're almost notorious for pulling unsuspecting people into closets. Ironically, I think it's catching on." Tim grinned, "I'm honestly surprised that we haven't been shot yet."

Daniel grinned back as they entered the elevator. "Probably a near thing."

"Yeah, I made the mistake of pulling Major Carter aside earlier today," Tim admitted sheepishly as they soon left the elevator to make their way to the storage room in question. "I'm honestly not certain what alarms me more; the fact that she immediately went on the offensive or the fact that I actually managed to duck each and everything she threw at me…"

"Father," Daniel shook his head, "Sam is a trained soldier."

"I know that," Tim countered as he led the linguist to the corner he had been in. "It's just that I've been in Stars knows how many situations over the past few years. I should probably be more concerned about my reflexes."

The pair scoured around the storage room in companionable silence and later, Tim frowned. "I know it was in this corner. I didn't take it anywhere else…"

"Hey, Father, I found it," Daniel's voice hailed him over to…

"What in the world…?" Tim's frown deepened as he joined Daniel in the aisle at the far end of the room. "I distinctly remember leaving it closer to the door. I wasn't anywhere near this far back."

Daniel handed the bookmark over. "Well, maybe someone came in after you and it floated back?" He suggested.

Tim shrugged, though experience had taught him that all was definitely not what it seemed at first glance. This time, however, there was no other explanation, unlikely though it seemed.

"Or maybe it was the ventilation system?" Daniel suggested.

"That seems more likely."

The two then headed for the door when the lights suddenly went out.

"Hey!" Tim blinked as the door slid shut. The resounding swish and thud made him immediately seek out Daniel's arm.

"It's okay, Father," Daniel patted him on the arm. "I think Sam said that they were running some sort of diagnostic program on the new back-up generators. Sam said it would take a few minutes for the tests and the generators to kick in."

"That makes me feel a little better," the redhead sighed as he loosened his grip on the other man's arm and they felt their way to a nearby shelf to wait it out.

***

"Look, you, it was your idea to visit so behave!" Remus Lupin reprimanded his collar-bound friend as the last true Marauders entered onto Hogwarts grounds. Sirius, as Padfoot, growled in reply. The black haired wizard was feeling somewhat depressed at the cottage, so Remus decided to ask Albus Dumbledore if it was alright to visit based on one of Sirius's suggestions. The older wizard saw no harm in it, but conditioned that Sirius stay as a dog for the remainder of his visit.

Before Remus could growl back, two pairs of ears pricked forward as they heard a light hearted argument.

"- know she did not!" a female voice huffed as her companion chuckled.

"Keep tellin' yourself that, AJ. I'll be convinced eventually."

Sirius barked as his nose recognized Harry's new friend from Diagon Alley, who was also the new Defense teacher.

Remus waved a bit shyly as Jack turned their way. "Hi."

"Well, well," Jack made a beeline for the werewolf and his dog. "Didn't think I'd be seeing you again. How are ya, Lupin?"

"Alright," he nodded amiably, before turning to the unknown brunette. Grey eyes appraised him from behind wire frame glasses, a teal star on the left corner of the frame.

"Oh, this is AJ," Jack put a hand on her shoulder as Sirius cautiously sniffed her thigh, easily coming up past her waist. After recognizing the strangest scent of blueberries he'd ever had the pleasure of smelling, he recognized the scent of a feline and turned his nose up.

"I know," AJ shrugged. "Cats."

Jack leaned down to tap his snout and ruffle his ears. "I have to agree. I don't like cats, either."

"So," Jack turned back to Remus. "What's up?"

"Snuffles missed Harry and I thought I would bring him up."

"Well, I have to go," AJ announced. "I'll see you around, Jack."

AJ left the trio and Jack motioned for Remus to lead the way. "Just about lunch time," Jack said. "But if you're looking for Harry and company, you might have your work cut out for you. I'd steer clear of Ron, though."

"Why?" Remus wanted to know.

"He didn't make it on the team," Jack shook his head. "As it stands, Crow, Harry, Johnson, Spinnet, Bell, Johanson, and Gordon are the members of the House Team until next year. Johnson will graduate this year and Spinnet, Bell, Crow, and Johanson will be seventh years come September, so Ron has a chance, unless something happens to Crow."

Remus winced at that. "Ron really was looking forward to being Keeper, too."

"Tell me about it."

Sirius trotted down the hall between the others, keeping one ear on the conversation and the other ear on what was going on around them. Picking up the scent of familiar cinnamon, he started barking at Hermione as she came around the corner.

"Professor! Snuffles! What are you doing here?" She rushed to give Remus a hug and allowed Sirius to lick her on the cheek. "I can take them to Harry, Jack. You don't need to stay."

"Nah, I think I'll hang around for a few more minutes," Jack shook his head with the strangest impression that they were trying to get rid of him, which was completely crazy even by _his_ standards. Little did he know, that was exactly what they were trying to do in order to keep Sirius safe. "Besides, I told Albus that I would keep an eye on you all."

Remus and Hermione exchanged looks. Sirius wouldn't be able to act like himself with Jack there. Sirius nosed their hands to tell them that he could handle it. Trusting Sirius, the group headed up into the higher sections of the school. To Hermione's dismay, however, that led them near the Divination classroom where she had left the boys.

"Hi," Harry grinned as he saw his godfather leading Moony toward them, but he was careful to hide his disappointment when he noticed that Jack was with them.

"Hello," the werewolf said pleasantly, glad to see his 'cub' and friends. "Having a nice year so far?"

After listening to them for a few minutes, Remus began to notice a trend. "And is this Professor Wright really that bad?"

"Yes!" Ron almost shouted. "Seems like all we do is read. And Jack doesn't like him either."

"Wait a minute," Jack held up a hand. "Who says I don't like him?"

"Well," Hermione informed him, "you don't relax around him much, and Harry doesn't like him at all."

"Yeah," Ron nodded, ignoring the dirty look his mate was shooting him. "I was for sure that Harry was going to challenge him to a duel the other day."

"I was not," Harry shot back.

Before anyone could say anything else, the lunch bell rang, telling everyone that food was ready when they were. Ron was the first one into the Great Hall with the others trailing behind, pretty much used to the redhead's antics when it came to food.

Sirius led to the Gryffindor Table and sat next to Remus on the floor with the others crowding around him. Jack decided that he was going to sit there, too, and that he was going to sit on the other side of the werewolf, which he did.

Needless to say, the group was quite subdued all during lunch.

***

"Daniel, I don't think the back up generators are going to come on," Tim Anderson deadpanned to the other man, both still stuck in the storage room.

"Sam said it would take awhile to make sure everything is hooked up and working like it should," Daniel reasoned patiently.

"Daniel?"

"Mmm?"

"That was three hours ago."

"It was not," Daniel frowned in the Father's general direction. "Remember, time seems to drag on with no way to tell."

"Alright," Tim conceded. "Two hours, then."

"Father…"

"Fine, fine. I'm just saying that I'd like to get out before bedtime tonight, that's all."

"We will," Daniel said confidently. "I bet the power will come back on any minute now."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the power really did come back on. "See? What'd I tell you?"

The pair stood up, eyes adjusting to the light, when the door slid open admitting Sam and Teal'c.

"Daniel Jackson," the Jaffa scanned his teammate, seemingly satisfied that nothing was amiss with the younger man since the glitch. "You are unharmed?"

"Yeah, Teal'c," Daniel let his friend greet Father Tim as he turned to his blonde teammate. "What happened, Sam?"

"Well," SG-1's only female bit her lip. "We're still working on that. All we know is that while running the tests, something went wrong and the power went out, taking the dialing system with it. No one's been able to dial in or out for over two hours."

"Told you," Father Tim scolded Daniel, who shrugged.

Sam shook her head. "We're trying to trace the source of the problem, but it might take a few hours and we don't know if the power will go out again."

"Is the base on lockdown?" Daniel wanted to know.

"Not at this moment," Teal'c intoned. "However, should we find sufficient cause for a lockdown, it will be in effect."

After puzzling that out, Father Tim nodded. "Hopefully, we won't need a 'sufficient cause', just yet. But just in case, I think we should keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary."

Noticing two sets of blue eyes staring at him, the priest rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry. I come from a family of people who like to be leaders."

"No," Daniel said slowly. "It's just that you sounded an awful lot like a friend of ours…"

"Oh? You know Leon Phillips?"(1)

"What? No, I mean Jack O'Neill. Who's Leon Phillips?" Daniel asked.

"Someone I've been hanging out with too much," Father Tim frowned thoughtfully. He shook his head. "Anyway, I better get going. I've got some people I promised to see."

"Sure, Father," Sam nodded.

After Daniel made sure that he had his bookmark, the redhead left the friends alone.

"Did you think he was channeling Jack?" Daniel wanted to know.

"Maybe his friend was," Sam suggested.

The three parted ways and Daniel made his way back to his office. Looking around, Daniel spotted the journal on the coffeemaker and retrieved it. Making a new cup of his favorite blend, he lazily perused an entry scrawled in his friend's familiar handwriting.

'_Sometimes it's boring around here. I mean, it makes absolutely no sense. This is supposed to be the most famous magical school in Europe if not the world. Something should happen, right? This is usually the most active place that I know and sometimes, it seems like I can't possibly keep up with it all. But when things slow down, it is unbelievably slow. This is supposed to be the most exciting place to be and it defies even magical reason when there is nothing to be excited about. Do you understand?'_

'Boy, do I ever,' Daniel agreed with Jack's feelings. 'Seems like Hogwarts shares some traits with the SGC…'

Sighing, he took his coffee and the journal back to where he was and continued with what he was doing before his unscheduled adventure and his early nap.

Daniel glanced over at an urn and blinked as he registered that the lid was snug on top. 'When did I put that back on?' he wondered absently. 'Oh, well.'

It wasn't unusual for him to move things around without conscious thought. But, he usually had some idea as to what it was he fiddled with.

***

The next day, the incident with the jar and storage room was forgotten in favor of a new problem that Daniel had inadvertently stumbled onto.

Teal'c leveled a look at his young friend as Father Tim just stared at him. "You're kidding. A _CD_? _That's _what you called us down here for?"

"Well, I'd have called Sam and Jack, but Sam is still trying to figure out what caused the glitch and only Me- God knows where Jack is." Daniel internally kicked himself as he slipped and almost said 'Merlin', since Jack and this friend of his were so fond of saying 'Merlin' a lot. You sort of got used to it after awhile.

Father Tim nodded and asked, "What exactly was on this CD?"

"That's just it," Daniel shrugged. "It was blank. I planned on transferring what SG-8 brought back on it to study at home."

As Teal'c raised an eyebrow, the red headed Father sighed. "The plot thickens, my friends. First the thing with the blackout, now we have a missing CD and there is absolutely no reason why to take it."

"Unless they were planning on stealing information from us," Sam Carter piped up, entering the room. "We found that a copy was made of a program that we were testing with the generators. If someone wants to, they can, effectively, put the entire mountain on blackout."

"You are kidding me," Daniel shook his head. "This can go a million and a half different ways. I don't particularly care for any of them."

"I haven't been around for as long as you characters," Father Tim shook his head at them. "Besides, I have a schedule to keep myself. I suppose I'll catch up with you all at lunch, then. God bless," he added as he left them to it.

Daniel thought about the situation as he absently waved him off. "How do you suppose someone could've gotten in? And why would they want a blank CD from _my_ office? Why not someone else's?"

"There's also the question of what use the information will be to them." Sam rubbed the back of her head. "You said before, there are just so many ways that this could go. But which way is the real mystery. The General is putting the wheels in motion to put the mountain on lockdown."

"Even though the CD could've been taken hours ago?" Daniel wanted to know.

"Well, the program is one of the few that can manipulate the generators of both NORAD and the SGC," Sam explained to her less technically inclined teammates.

"I didn't even know those were possible," Daniel said somewhat sheepishly.

"What of the journal?" Teal'c turned their attention off of possible security leaks and threats to national security for a minute.

"Oh, well," Daniel picked the journal up from where he had placed it near the coffeemaker while looking for the missing disc when he had come in. "By all accounts, this is an actual school kid's journal chronicling his and various friends' antics throughout the year. You won't believe the stuff Jack and Ricky got into with a few other friends! I had to sit down because I was laughing so hard," Daniel chuckled as he remembered some of the antics that Jack had described, one of which reminded him of an April Fool's prank just that last year that involved a can of whipped cream, marbles, and what appeared to be fireflies. Except, in the Hogwarts version of the prank, marbles, bubbles, fireflies, as well as something called a Sniffler, ran amuck and apparently even years after graduation, no one managed to figure out who did it. Daniel had been in tears at that point.

A ringing phone cut off the memories and amusement of the others at their member lost in said memories.

"Daniel Jackson's office, Dr. Jackson speaking," he juggled coffee, journal, and phone at once.

"_Er, Daniel?"_ Father Timothy's voice was an unexpected surprise.

"Father? I thought you were knee-deep in plans," Daniel looked at the other two. Sam and Teal'c looked at each other.

"_Um, yes, well, I need to ask a favor of you."_

"Sure! What can I do for you?" Daniel was all ears, always eager to lend a helping hand.

"_Can you tell me about Replicators?"_

"Replicators?" Daniel blinked.

"What about them?" Sam wanted to know. Daniel shrugged and put it on speaker.

"Hey, Father," she piped up. "Why do you want to know about Replicators?"

"_Oh, just, you know, curious. I know I could read the mission reports, but I find it better if I heard it from you guys. Anyway, I was just going over a lot of the things that I've heard about and I realized that I'd never actually thought about the Replicators that I've heard talk of. I have heard the basics, but I would like to confirm a few things."_

"Alright," Sam nodded. "Fire away whenever."

"_Okay, then. First, exactly how bad are they? And how did you know about their existence?"_

Daniel went first. "Well, they like to eat virtually anything and they replicate because of that. We first heard about the Replicators from the Asgard and they are mortal enemies. Like us and the Goa'ulds. That sort of thing. But they are seriously very bad news. We had met them before and we now have weapons to, I guess, create an interference so that they just fall apart with one shot."

"But," Sam broke in, "we try to use whatever we can, because they could build an immunity to them and we sort of have to keep changing the frequency ever so slightly."

"_I see. And by falling apart you mean…?"_

"When you first see them," Sam continued, "you could automatically think 'Lego' because they actually look like spiders built from a child's lego blocks."

Father Tim was silent for a few minutes as he absorbed this information.

"Is that all you wanted to know, Father?" Daniel wanted to know.

"_One more thing." _Father Tim hesitated trying to find the right words. _"Should I, hypothetically of course, come across these Replicators, what would be the best course of action?"_

Sam frowned. "If you came across the Replicators, you would need to seal off the section after evacuating the area and you would have to sound the alarms. From there, we would put the base on lockdown -- no-one in or out-- and we'd have to try to figure out how they got on the base in the first place."

"_Ah, well, that does help." _Father Tim thanked them and hung up.

"What do you suppose that was about?" Daniel asked.

"I don't know," Sam shook her head as Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know, either," Daniel shrugged, "but it may be something called 'An Anderson Thing'."

Teal'c wisely didn't say anything about his thoughts on the redhead. However, this was because his teammates actually seemed to bond with the priest and he didn't want to put strain on the fledgling friendships just because he had unfounded suspicions that Father Timothy Anderson was hiding something from them. Teal'c was fairly sure that it didn't have anything harmful to do with his 'family', but the Jaffa would be keeping an eye on him nonetheless.

Sam was about to suggest lunch out when the alarms started to sound.

***

AN: I was hoping to make this a longer chapter, but it's already going on 12 pages and I thought this was going to be a good place to stop.

Sorry for the wait. It has been crazy and my yard has been 'bunny-less' (all metaphorically, of course) and one just happened to pass by with the inspiration to the story.

I'll get the next one out soon.

Hyper

10-23-09


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

**Please read :**

**Just a reminder, this story is **_**not**_** slash. I don't know if I should continue with the OC s who are gay... It's not even romance… Keep in mind, when I do decide to bring romance into play, it will *not* be Canon Pairings. Sorry, Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione fans.**

**I know that someone asked me about a Jack/Daniel pairing, but (un)fortunately, I still have a **_**Eureka **_**slash story to write first. Rest assured, I will write J/D (I'm too much of a fan not to) in the future. *Please refer to note in bio.***

**Although, not in this story, mind, there will be some kisses between friends… Gotta love magical mistletoe!**

**The ending scenes will be dealing with comfort between friends who are like brothers. There will be talk of the sensitive nature in the next chapter, so please take care. Oh, should I change the rating for this story, overall, or just the 'chapter rating'? I can't decide.**

* * *

Daniel skidded to a stop when he spotted the redheaded Father fidgeting in the hall as the mountain preceded to lock-down. Sam and Teal'c stopped a few steps behind.

"What happened, Father?" Daniel gasped as he adjusted his glasses.

"I thought that was obvious- Sorry. I keep forgetting you don't live in Vermont," Tim shook his head and explained. "But anyway… I was heading toward the stairs and was about to go in when I heard something from one of the storage rooms on this hall."

SG-1 studied the hallway and noted that there were quite a few on this particular level.

"I thought someone needed help so I went to see if I 'fit the bill', as it were. Well, I found something alright, thus the phone call."

"Holy Hannah," Sam whipped her head around to stare at him. "There are _Replicators_ on base? How the he-ck did that happen?" She remembered the man of the cloth at the very last minute.

"I don't know," Daniel bit his lip. Turning to Tim, he asked, "Father, did you see how many there were?"

He was silent for a minute before he said, "I lost count at twenty."

"That's twenty too much," Sam hissed in a breath through her teeth. "C'mon, we need to tell the General what's going on and see if we can get a group to help us round up some, well, 'stun guns'."

"How the hell did they get on this base?" General Hammond demanded to know. "Sorry, Father," he added absently as he saw the redhead enter with the team.

"Well," Sam shook her head. "Remember, sir, you don't need more than one to start an army."

"Thus the name," Tim nodded in understanding. "Take one and they replicate until they have enough to overpower a common enemy."

"Essentially," she nodded.

The next few minutes were hectic and, to Father Tim, exciting as the base was put on lockdown and teams started getting assembled as 'stunners', Major Ferretti explained, were given out.

"Do I get one?" Father Tim tried oh so very hard to keep the supposed 'puppy eyes' to a minimum. He didn't think he could pull them off, but his cousins Dan and Danni insisted that they couldn't say no to them.

"Ever fired a gun before?" Daniel questioned as he brought over an extra one. Even the General agreed that the more people out there the better.

"Yes, not that I enjoyed any of them," he said darkly. "I only wished I could bring myself to make a kill shot. It would make our lives easier…"

Daniel studied him at the last part, frowning as he detected genuine longing at that. "Uh, why?"

Father Tim's eyes refocused from where ever they were and shook his head. "Sometime in the future, my friend. I'm afraid I can't say anything more than that." 'Far, _far_, into the future,' he scowled inwardly.

"Well, alright… Anyway, you'll be with me, Sam, and Teal'c. Soler and Manna from SG-19 will be helping."

Tim nodded. As soon as the group assembled, they headed to Level 28, where the Gate room was located. Captain K. Soler explained to Father Tim as they headed down, keeping an eye out for anything that so much as twitched, "Us and two other groups are heading down to the Stargate and check things out. The search teams usually have a bit of a schedule, but that still depends on the current situation."

"Other teams are searching above us?" He asked, eyes sweeping areas in a manner that reminded the Captain strongly of Colonel O'Neill. Captain Soler wasn't entirely sure what to make of it.

"Uh, yeah. Right now, with the Colonel off-base, Major Carter is the ranking officer. The General is with two other teams on Level 12."

"Level 12...Secondary Power Grids?" Tim chewed his bottom lip thoughtfully.

"Yeah," Daniel piped up. He was a few feet away, behind Corporal Dina Manna. "We meet up with another group on Level 26."

"That's the Storage part," Major Carter supplied helpfully from further ahead with Teal'c.

The six of them met up with the other half of SG-19 along with SG-8 just past the armory located on that floor before continuing on their separate paths.

* * *

Jack O'Neill sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. Looking around the office attached to the classroom, he suddenly found himself missing his team. Yeah, he could visit anytime he wanted, but he couldn't help envisioning Carter, Teal'c, and Daniel all crowded around the space in front of him. He could just see Teal'c studying the class layout from the door as Carter and Daniel poked around at all the little magical things that Jack had out for display, all the while firing different questions at him about anything magical that they could form into words.

Standing up and shaking his head to get rid of the daydream, he left his office and looked out to see a head of platinum blond.

"Ah, Malfoy," he tilted his head as grey eyes were drawn up to him. "What seems to be the reason for this visit? I don't have your class until tomorrow and shouldn't you be doing something else?"

"Professor," he nodded slightly. The Prince bent back over his work. Giving into curiosity, Jack approached him and looked over his shoulder.

"Oh, I see," Jack nodded sagely. "Yes, flowers are very interesting to Slytherins."

"They are not just _any _flowers," Draco frowned up at him. "These are very important to certain, complicated potions that need to be done in a certain way."

Jack held his hands up. "Alright, alright! I get the point already, geez…"

Nodding, the blond went back to his 'potion flowers' and left his professor to himself.

Jack studied him and suddenly an idea came to him.

Draco didn't look at him as he heard Jack hurry back to his office and return, taking a seat on the opposite side of the room so that, should he want, he would only have to look to the left to watch him. As it was, he watched the older wizard from the corner of his eye as Jack started scribbling into a book that Draco fancied was a Muggle bit.

As an hour slowly passed, the blond glanced at him every once in a while. He didn't think he had looked up at him, but maybe Jack was looking at him whenever he wasn't looking.

Suddenly hearing a gasp, Draco looked up to see Jack bend over to put his head on the desk as his right hand took his left in a death grip. "Professor?" Draco slowly stood and made his way over to him, taking a peek at what the older man had been writing in.

It was him and another man who looked vaguely familiar. Draco was slightly impressed at the likeness that was displayed, but also interested to see his paper counterpart wearing some sort of Muggle outfit under a darkly colored… what was it that Pansy, Shopaholic Extraordinaire, called it? Oh, a vest. Yet it was different than the one Draco had seen, and would secretly wear on occasion…

"Sir?" He took his mind off the drawing and returned his attention to his professor. "Do you need to see the Nurse?"

"Nah," Jack ground out, slowly coming to sit upright again. "I'm good." 'What the all loving heck was that?' He rubbed his wrist again slightly as the pain receded. The pain was getting stronger but, up to this point, tolerable. In fact, it was only last week he had experienced one of the strange tingles centered around his left wrist. He still didn't know quite what to make of it.

Draco cautiously put a hand on his shoulder and patted him awkwardly. "Feel better?"

"Truckloads."

Leaving the blond Prince to wonder what that meant, Jack returned his art supplies to his office and sighed. "Lunchtime," he announced as he returned and swept his student's things off the desk he had been working on into his arms, leading the protesting Slytherin out of the classroom.

In the Three Broomsticks, nestled under a nest of blankets, grey eyes shot open wide.

"No way," AJ stared at the inside of her nest. "Are you kidding me? Right here? And so close…"

Before she could further contemplate her extraordinarily good luck at finding her quarry so close at hand, she fell victim to the beckoning darkness.

* * *

"As my cousin would say," Tim deadpanned. " 'Do your worst and pray to your God that you actually make it out in one piece, if not alive.'"

"Usually, Father," Carter smiled slightly. "I would agree with you, but I don't think that your cousin had this in mind."

"Probably not," Tim stared at the oncoming crowd of bugs that they had managed to bring out of hiding. Oh yes, he could definitely say that his cousin didn't have this in mind when he said it. At the time, they had been facing two other teams in what was known as an Anderson style Paintball Fight. That, however, was neither here nor there. "Just in case, I think I have us covered."

"Good to know," Manna readied her stun gun and waited until they were close enough to fire on. "Put in a good word or two for me, please."

"I thought you didn't believe in God or Religion of any kind," Soler grinned slightly.

"Just this once," she quipped. "Can't hurt…"

Suddenly, the air was filled with what could only be described as whines and falling Lego blocks. Since they were at an intersection with three halls connecting with the main hall, Soler and Carter paired up to deal with one section of the pesky Replicators as Manna hooked up with Teal'c to take up with the other section. That left Daniel with Father Tim.

"Ready, Father?" Daniel asked lightly as their section of bugs advanced toward them.

"Beyond ready, my son," Tim hiked up the gun and aimed.

It was all over pretty quickly. Once two other teams had taken care of some stragglers, it was reported that the bugs were gone from the higher levels. The cleared levels were being tentatively released from lockdown as the rest of the teams went farther below to sweep for any left.

As Soler and Manna reunited with their teammates, Tim and SG-1 returned to the Gate room where the General awaited them.

"I want to know how they got here this time," Hammond rubbed a weary hand over his face. "Until we get this sorted out, all Gate travel has been restricted. Those already off-world will have to sit tight at designated planets."

A few minutes later and the four were on their way to the locker room to get ready for home.

"Hey, Father," Daniel couldn't help but study the other man. "I couldn't help but notice how well you managed to take care of the Replicators…"

That was a bit of an understatement. When Daniel had glanced over at him, he almost stopped shooting as he saw that the red haired Father was taking no prisoners as he seemed to take care of the bugs with the pinpoint precision born of someone who had done something like this countless times before.

_Sniper_ precision.

"Mm," Father Tim ruffled his short red hair as he adjusted his glasses. "You don't say."

As they left and entered the elevator that would take them topside, Carter nodded. "I couldn't really help but notice, too."

The elevator stopped and the group trooped out.

"Although," Tim suddenly stopped them after signing out and heading off to their cars. "I have to ask you something."

"Sure, go ahead," Carter nodded, pausing.

"Why did you think I became a priest?" Then he grinned and went off.

Marveling at the Father's little bombshell, Daniel had to grin as he drove away from the mountain. 'Never dull around here, that's for sure,' he thought as he turned the corner and continued down the street leading to his apartment. 'Who would have thought that I would be Head Linguist, Anthropologist, etc. for a top secret underground facility dealing with intergalactic travel and alien life? Now that I think of it, who would have thought that I would be friends with one of those aliens? Never mind the fact that my newest friend used to be a sniper, but is now a priest, and my best friend could very well be a wizard.' Daniel shook his head as he started thinking about the journal he, Carter, and Teal'c were trying to make heads or tails of. They did understand that their CO and friend wanted them to find out on their own, but that still didn't mean that they really believed it to be 100% true.

In order to erase those doubts but not let on that they (probably) knew, all of the team would be keeping a very close eye on their friend in the future before they would agree to confront him about it.

Turning yet another corner, Daniel suddenly saw a handful of Emergency Response Vehicles (ERV) parked haphazardly in front of his apartment. "What in the…"

Daniel quickly sped up before parking on the nearby curb and barely remembered to cut the engine before all but throwing himself out of the car. Rushing into the fray, Daniel's arm was grabbed by one of his neighbors, elderly Mr. Roger Mayn. "Mr. Mayn? What's going on?" Daniel wanted to know.

"We have been trying to get ahold of you, but your phone was off," Mr. Mayn was pale as he explained.

"Yeah, I've been, er, tied up in some work. Could you tell me what's going on?"

* * *

Jack yawned as he looked at his magic run watch. '11:09 pm. Our time, at least.' Doing some quick calculations in his head, he found that it was still fairly early back home. 'Maybe I'll head home after I check the Tower Commons.'

Since Jack was on what he termed 'hall duty', or roaming around and firmly coaxing kids back to bed, he had already decided to hit the 'Tower Commons'. Or, the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw common rooms to the more common folk.

He frowned as he stopped in front of the Ravenclaw entrance. Looking around, he found himself strangely alone.

As in, AJ was nowhere to be found.

Usually, the brunette would be lurking around that section of wall that she still glared at on occasion when he passed by. Then again, she could also be found arguing with either ghost or painting (Sir Cadogen) about anything ranging from the perfect time to become a ghost to the perfect way to run off 'scurvy rouges', after which the Knight in question would spout off some other kind of nonsense and ride off through the other paintings while calling for AJ to follow. Other times, she would scare the all living cookie dough out of him when he would be turning the corner into what he thought was an empty hall.

It was a very good thing that he didn't carry his weapon.

Sighing, Jack entered the Raven Commons and found only a handful still awake and even they were fading fast. Figuring all was right, he turned back around and caught sight of a vaguely familiar blonde curled up in an armchair with her wand behind her ear and reading an upside down magazine.

"Good evening, Professor," the blonde- Lovegood, he remembered- called out softly.

"Night," he nodded to her and continued on his way, this time to the red and gold side of the spectrum.

Stopping in front of the Fat Lady, Jack looked around again to make sure AJ wasn't going to sneak up on him like just two days ago. He gained entrance to the Lion's Den and had to grin at one of the few lions still hard at work.

Walking over to Missy, he tapped her on the shoulder.

"Professor?" Hermione questioned as she looked up her books. "I just need to finish this…"

"It'll still be here tomorrow, Missy," Jack slowly took the book from her and coaxed her up and out of her chair. "Time for all Lions to be sound asleep. Especially with Hogsmeade weekend just five days away now, you need to rest up."

"Alright, Professor," she supposed that a nap wouldn't hurt. "See you tomorrow?"

"Maybe in class," Jack nodded as she started climbing up. "I may have an errand to take care of."

After seeing her up the stairs and out of sight, Jack hung around for a few more minutes to make sure Missy stayed up there. He wouldn't put sneaking back down past her if he could help it. More than once, in the past, he would have to chase Daniel or Carter away from the Mountain and issue the order to keep them from getting back in to finish some work until enough time had passed.

Speaking of whom, Jack withdrew all thoughts about AJ and remembered him sleeping in his own house for once. He went back and tidied up Missy's table so that it wouldn't all end up on the floor in some fashion or another. It was just as he moved a History of Magic essay did he find a framed picture.

Picking it up, he studied the laughing figures held within.

Green eyes sparkled with laughter as Lily Potter grinned up at him with a cheerful wave. James Potter pushed his glasses up as he waved at Jack, who smiled slightly as he noticed James's brown eyes scan the out of frame area.

"He went to sleep," Jack informed him. "Probably forgot about you guys."

As James relaxed, the figure to Lily's left shook his head slightly, leaning on a cane and looking a bit worse for wear. 'Lupin,' he nodded at the younger man and smiled at the return wave.

On James's right, however, was the one Jack had only seen in the paper. 'Sirius Black,' he sighed, sinking onto a stool in thought. 'I knew there was something off about that story,' he mused as he watched Black's interaction with Potter. 'Best friends don't turn on best friends like the story said. It had to be something else.'

Black and Potter had just started throwing little jets of water from their wands at each other when Jack had a thought. "Potter, Evans," the two gave him their undivided attention. "I don't suppose we've met somewhere before, have we? And not just in the paper." (1)

The couple just shrugged and Jack nodded. "Let's get you lot up to bed, then."

Jack climbed the stairs to the 5th year boys dorms and carefully opened it. Slipping inside, he suddenly noticed a slightly brownish ball of fur that had curled itself up at the end Longbottom's four poster and smiled slightly as strangely familiar grey eyes blinked up at him before the cat yawned and went back to sleep.

Straightening Thomas's pillows and pushing Weasley into a more secure spot on the bed that didn't threaten to drop him on the floor, he made his way to Harry's bed and had to smile at the curled up Lion. With a hand on his pillow and next to his cheek, Jack was sadly reminded of his son, Charlie. Settling the picture in next to the Hero of the Wizarding World, Jack couldn't help but see Harry as the kid he still was and not just some kind of secret weapon. Tucking the covers in more securely, he brushed his friend's black fringe just a little bit and waved a goodnight to the picture. Jack left for the door, but first had to scratch the cat's ears. 'Funny,' he couldn't help thinking. 'Never seen this one before. Maybe it belongs to another House?'

Finally tearing himself away, Jack went out of the tower, and ended up at Dumbledore's office. "Dairy Mice," he intoned as he shook his head. 'With Dumbledore as Headmaster, nothing is dull around here.'

"Ah, Jonathon," Albus looked up as he knocked. "I suppose everything's as it should?"

"Yes, sir. I was just wondering if it was possible to spend the night stateside. It's just that-"

"By all means," Albus nodded. "I shall see you tomorrow, bright and early?"

Jack peeked at his watch. Just over half past midnight. "Later today, you mean?" He grinned cheekily.

Jack smiled slightly as he stepped out of his fireplace.

"Home sweet home."

He walked around the couch and came to a stop as he found a duffle bag resting against it. Immediately recognizing it, Jack was suddenly glad to have had the presence of mind to Floo from his quarters in his Muggle clothes. "Daniel?" He picked the duffle up and, using a quick spell to get clean and find his friend, headed to the master bedroom. Slowly pushing the door open, Jack found that his bedside lamp was on its lowest setting and the blinds closed. His eyes adjusting to the dim light, he spotted a lump in the middle of his bed.

"Daniel?" He tried again. "What's wrong?"

The lump shifted. "J'ck?" The blankets shifted to reveal his red-eyed friend.

Jack sat down on the edge of the bed as Daniel inched over to him. "Everything alright, buddy?"

"Can you lay down?" Jack blinked at the rare, but not unheard of, request. When things were bad, in whichever way they appeared, Daniel would come over to spend a few nights at Jack's place. When they were very bad, Daniel would crawl into bed with Jack and curl up next to him for some comfort. Jack had always had the suspicion that this was a result of Daniel's lonely upbringing, but he never managed to get hard evidence.

"Sure, just let me do a few things," Jack reached out to smooth ruffled hair and blue eyes slowly closed in response. Quickly grabbing some jammies, he went into the guest room and changed. Making sure his wand was hidden and house was locked (the fire had put itself out. Magically, of course), he returned to his room and closed the door.

Daniel had moved over and lifted the covers, revealing a light grey button up night shirt and the banana imprinted pajama bottoms that both Cassie Frasier and Lou Ferretti gifted him with just last Christmas.

Jack slid in next to him and they immediately settled in with Daniel sidling up into Jack's side and the older man wrapping a comforting arm around him. "You gonna tell me what happened?" Jack repeated.

Daniel didn't answer. He was already fast asleep.

* * *

AN:

(1) refers to other story, "Jack and Harry". Read it if you like.

Oh, and if you were wondering about Thor taking Jack off, please reread chapter 23. I think I was more vague than I thought. Where did you think Jack disappeared to?

May 23, 2010 Sunday

_AN: The next chapter has been stalled because I cannot get it out of my laptop. I will try to transfer all information to my new computer as soon as I can. When I get a new one, that is... :)_

_6-24-10 Thurs_


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